Last year was monumental for NASCAR driver Daniel Suarez on both a professional and personal level. For one, the 31-year-old driver for Trackhouse Racing had the best Cup Series season of his career, becoming the first Mexican-born driver to win a Cup race with his victory at Sonoma Raceway. Suarez went on to finish 10th in the points standings, racking up six top-five finishes and 13 top-10s along the way. On top of that, Suarez proposed to Julia Piquet, his girlfriend of three years. And she said yes!
As it turns out, Julia was attending races long before she met her soon-to-be husband. In fact, she actually comes from a major racing family. Though switching from the world of Formula One to NASCAR probably did take a little getting used to.
Getting to Know Julia Piquet
Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Born and raised in Miami, Florida, Julia Piquet is the daughter of Brazilian Formula One legend Nelson Piquet, who won 23 races and three championships during his career. Julia was born to Nelson's second wife, and her brother Nelson Jr. followed in his father's footsteps by pursuing a career in Formula One and Formula E. Kelly Piquet, Julia's sister, is a successful model who's also heavily involved in the Formula One and Formula E worlds. In 2015, Kelly started running the Formula E social media accounts. From 2017-2019, she dated F1 driver Daniil Kvyat and shares a child with him. Since 2021, she's been dating two-time F1 champion Max Verstappen.
Julia also has several step-brothers who've raced professionally over the years, including Geraldo Piquet, Pedro Piquet, and Laszlo Piquet. While Julia herself is obviously passionate about motorsports, she also has several other hobbies that she actively promotes on social media. Aside from her main Instagram account, where she keeps her followers updated on her personal life and Daniel's career accomplishments, she also runs Julia's Porsche, which chronicles the restoration process of a beautiful 1966 Porsche 912. Julia is also a certified integrative nutrition health coach, and her health and wellness page is dedicated to her fitness journey.
Julia has been a hardcore NASCAR fan since at least 2019, when she started dating Daniel Suarez (who was driving for Stewart-Haas Racing at the time). On November 25, 2022, Daniel went "full send" and asked Julia to marry him during their vacation to France and Monaco. How's that for romantic?!
Earlier that year, Julia was introduced to a big chunk of NASCAR fans when she was featured on the USA Network show Race for the Championship. Julia's time on the show made it immediately clear that she has been a solid support system for Daniel during his high-profile journey in the Cup Series.
"Everyone always asks me, 'Do you get anxious or nervous,' and I always say I do, but it's not because I'm particularly worried of him getting hurt," Piquet told USA Insider during the red carpet premier of Race for the Championship. "It's more because I know how much work, effort and discipline goes into his day-to-day preparation before he gets into a race car on Sunday. There's nothing better than to see him do well during the race, knowing how much work he's put into that."
For someone who's practically spent her whole life in racing, Julia knows all too well what Daniel goes through on a consistent basis. She's been with him through the highest of highs and the lowest of lows of his career. It doesn't really get much better than that.
