[3] After losing his drive, it emerged that he had, under instruction from senior members of the team, crashed deliberately at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to help his teammate, Fernando Alonso, win the race.

The resulting scandal became one of the most significant in motor sport history, and ultimately saw a permanent end to Piquet Jr's career in Formula 1.

Piquet's parents separated soon after he was born, and he lived in Monaco with his Dutch mother, Sylvia Tamsma, until he was eight years old.

In 2005, Piquet took part in the A1 Grand Prix for A1 Team Brazil, winning both the Sprint and Main races at the first event of the season at Brands Hatch,[6] as well as scoring a point for the fastest lap.

He also drove for the Hitech Piquet Sports in the GP2 Series, winning his first race at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, and tested for the BAR-Honda Formula One team.

[7] The 2008 season saw Piquet promoted to the Renault Formula One race team to drive alongside returning double World Champion Fernando Alonso.

[14] His problems were further compounded with a pair of non-finishes, when he crashed out at Monaco after failing to get to grips with the damp conditions,[15] and spun off while chasing teammate Alonso in Canada, before ultimately retiring on lap 42[16] with brake failure.

[17] Piquet was under increasing pressure from his Renault team over the course of the 2008 season, and there was speculation he would lose his race seat if he did not improve.

[18] Renault did nothing to quell the rumours, publicly urging him to improve after the Turkish Grand Prix[19] and suggesting after Monaco that he lacked confidence.

[20] Despite the pressure, Piquet scored his first points in F1 with a 7th-place finish at the 2008 French Grand Prix passing his twice-World Champion teammate Fernando Alonso in the last few laps.

In the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Piquet was at one point lying in fourth place, having passed his teammate who was on old tyres.

China was another disappointment, however, and after spinning several times and requiring two new nose cones for his car he eventually finished 16th and last, two laps down, in what team manager Flavio Briatore described as a "very, very bad race".

[26] Along with several other drivers, Piquet was linked to a drive with Ferrari as a replacement for the injured Felipe Massa, after stand-in Luca Badoer finished second-to-last at the European Grand Prix.

Later, he recanted, making statements to the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) that it was deliberate, and that he had been asked by Renault team principal Flavio Briatore and engineer Pat Symonds to stage the crash.

[citation needed] On 11 September, Renault and Briatore stated they would initiate a criminal case against Piquet for making false allegations and blackmail.

[31][32] On 21 September, on conclusion of the FIA hearings, Piquet, who was 23 at the time of the 2008 Singapore GP, said "I bitterly regret my actions to follow the orders I was given... My situation at Renault turned into a nightmare.

"[33] Renault accused Piquet of 'false allegations' and even produced an anonymous "Witness X" who supposedly provided first-hand details of the conspiracy planning, which backed up Pat Symonds' claim that the idea for the crash came from Piquet himself as a way to atone for poor performance and aid in his negotiations for a contract extension with the team.

The Piquets' lawyer said "They were both treated appallingly by Renault F1 when they dared to reveal the scandal to the governing body... F1 has been deprived of the best of Nelsinho and it is to [F1's] detriment that his talent is now being demonstrated elsewhere."

Renault issued an apology in response to the High Court decision: "The team accepts that the allegations made by Nelson Piquet Jr. were not false.

"[39] On December 28, 2009, it was reported by Spanish website Motor21.com that Piquet had signed a three-year contract with Campos alongside Senna.

[46] Piquet drove in the Camping World Truck Series with Red Horse Racing,[47] and made his stock car debut in the ARCA RE/MAX Series at Daytona International Speedway driving the #6 Toyota for ARCA powerhouse Eddie Sharp Racing.

[citation needed] Piquet then announced that he would compete in three races for Billy Ballew Motorsports driving the #15 truck.

[50] Piquet finished 10th in points and was a finalist for Most Popular Driver and runner-up to Joey Coulter for Rookie of the Year.

[54] On September 29, 2012, Piquet won his second career Camping World Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

[59] Released by Turner Scott Motorsports due to a lack of sponsorship following the 2013 season, in April 2014 it was announced that Piquet would contest the 2014 Global RallyCross Championship with SH Racing, driving the No.

07 Ford Fiesta ST.[60] He collected four podiums in nine races, and finished the season in fourth place in the championship standings.

[62] In the first five races of the 2014–15 season, Piquet achieved podium finishes in Punta del Este,[63] and Buenos Aires.