Nelson Piquet vs Satoru Nakajima

Nelson Piquet edged Satoru Nakajima 8–5 in the races and 11–2 in qualifying at Team Lotus in 1989. Nelson Piquet scored 9 points to 3.

Nelson PiquetSatoru Nakajima

11Qualifying2

13 shared races

8Race day5

13 shared races

9Points3

as awarded at the time

50Points (today’s rules)27

rescored 25-18-15…

Race by race

Round-by-round comparison of Nelson Piquet and Satoru Nakajima
R	Grand Prix	Grid	Nelson Piquet	Satoru Nakajima	Points
1	Brazilian Grand Prix	9/21	Fuel system	P8	0 / 0
2	San Marino Grand Prix	8/24	Engine	Not classified	0 / 0
4	Mexican Grand Prix	26/15	P11▼	Spun off	0 / 0
5	United States Grand Prix	22/23	Spun off	Throttle	0 / 0
7	French Grand Prix	20/19	P8	Engine	0 / 0
8	British Grand Prix	10/16	P4	P8	3 / 0
9	German Grand Prix	8/18	P5	Spun off	2 / 0
10	Hungarian Grand Prix	17/20	P6	Accident	1 / 0
12	Italian Grand Prix	11/19	Spun off	P10	0 / 0
13	Portuguese Grand Prix	20/25	Collision	P7	0 / 0
14	Spanish Grand Prix	7/18	P8	Collision	0 / 0
15	Japanese Grand Prix	11/12	P4	Engine	3 / 0
16	Australian Grand Prix	18/23	Collision	P4	0 / 3
Average finish			P6.6	P7.4

The driver ahead in a round is shown in bold, the other in grey. Grid shows Nelson Piquet / Satoru Nakajima.
P1 a win,P3 a podium,DNF a retirement.
▲ a finish at least 4 places better than that driver’s own average finish this season (see the average row), ▼ at least 4places worse. Retirements are not counted in the average.

Other seasons in which Nelson Piquet and Satoru Nakajima were teammates
Season	Team	Matchup	Quali	Race	Points
1988	Team Lotus	Nelson Piquet vs Satoru Nakajima	13–1	10–4	22–1

How these numbers are calculated

Only races both drivers started are counted. Entries that did not qualify, did not pre-qualify or were withdrawn are excluded, as is the Indianapolis 500 of 1950–1960.
Qualifying is compared on grid position rather than session times. Session-by-session qualifying data only exists from 1994, while grid position is recorded for over 99% of entries right back to 1950 — including every race of the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
On race day the driver classified ahead takes the round. If neither was classified, the one who completed more laps is credited; if both retired on the same lap it is scored as a tie and excluded from the tally.
Points are those awarded at the time and include sprint races from 2021. Where the season used an older system, a second points row rescores every round under the current system so seasons from different eras can be compared.
These are points scored across the season, which up to 1990 is not the same as the championship total: only a driver’s best results counted towards the title. In 1988 Alain Prost outscored Ayrton Senna 105 to 94 and still lost the championship. Theseason page has the final standings.