Another Formula 1 scandal: triple Brazilian champion Nélson Piquet racially abused Lewis Hamilton

First, Formula 2 dealt with the situation surrounding Jüri Vips for racist labelling on the Twitch platform, and now three-time Formula 1 World Champion Nélson Piquet is alleged to have committed the offence. The recipient of the insult was Lewis Hamilton, with Piquet subsequently receiving a stiff penalty.

The three-time world champion and Brazilian legend was said to have racially insulted Mercedes driver Hamilton in a statement a few days ago.

Back in November last year, journalist Ricardo Oliveira filmed an interview with Piquet, but it has only now become public.

In that interview, Oliveira asked the former Brazilian racing driver what he thought about last year’s accident between Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

The contact occurred at Copse corner, whereupon the Dutch driver ended up in the tyre barrier after a hard impact and a 51g overload, while Hamiton won the race despite being penalised.

The incident was one of the most controversial of last season. According to Piquet, this corner is very tricky and Hamilton can still be glad that only Verstappen, who subsequently ended up in hospital, was the only one to suffer.

However, in his statement he used the word “neguinho”, which is a commonly used colloquial expression and is also a diminutive of “nego”. However, according to the Czech news server F1 Sport, if a person uses this term to describe a stranger, it already contains a racist context.

“The little ne** just sent the car in, hit Max and then drove off. Senna would never do that,” Piquet said in the above interview. Piquet then used the word again in relation to the collision. Well, once his statement saw the light of day, it was trouble again.

Piquet subsequently apologised to Hamilton

Piquet’s words led the FIA to investigate further after the heated situation with Vips. According to Motorsport, Piquet was given a harsh punishment in the form of a ban from the Formula One paddock.

The seven-time world champion then stated that it was time to change the archaic way of thinking and he believes that racism needs to be fought hard. He was supported by a number of other drivers

Piquet has already apologised to Hamilton, but added that he would never use the word he used to racially abuse someone. He also claimed that the term used was historically not translated in Brazilian Portuguese with a racist context, but colloquially as “person” or “guy”.

“I would never use a word that I should have used, which everyone translated differently, to offend someone. I strongly condemn any suggestion that I used the word to put down a rider because of his skin colour. I apologize from the bottom of my heart to those who were offended, including Lewis. He is an incredible driver,” said Piquet, quoted by Motorsport.

“Discriminatory or racist language is unacceptable in any form and has no role in society. Lewis is an incredible ambassador for our sport and deserves respect. His tireless efforts to increase diversity and inclusion are a lesson to many and something we at F1 are committed to,” Formula 1 itself responds to the situation.

Sources: Motorsport, Formula 1, F1 Sport