Piquet won the 1981 and '83 drivers' titles with Ecclestone as team owner at Brabham during a seven-year stint with the team from 1979 to 1985.

Ecclestone, 86, has been replaced by Chase Carey as Formula 1 CEO, putting an end to the Briton's 40-year reign.

"The example that I learned from Ecclestone is about the way he treats things with transparency," Piquet told Motorsport.com – Brazil.

"When I had a contract with him, I knew if I don't race well in two races, I would be out of the car.

"And now, I know he was right.

"Formula 1 is what it is today because of Bernie. Any company, any country, if you have a smart manager, who knows how to do things, who knows how to organise, it goes forward."

Taking racing lessons into business

Following his racing career, Piquet founded the company Autotrac, which provides safety tracking systems for commercial vehicles.

He says his firm's success was built on the lessons he learned from his motor racing career, which also included starts in the Indy 500 and Le Mans 24 Hours. He won his third F1 title with Williams in 1987.

"I would not say I learned from Bernie Ecclestone, but I learned from motorsport, that everything needs a beginning, middle and an end. You need to do things works with discipline and teamwork.

"I learned it after 20 years racing, I put it inside my company and I had huge success. Valuing people, working with a goal and starting and ending things.

"This is a thing that I learned from motorsport and I put it into my business life. I started to work when I was 40, and it helped me a lot."

Interview by Felipe Motta