Nelson Piquet on Lewis Hamilton abuse: “Bull**** - nothing I said wrong”
The 69-year-old Brazilian, who won the F1 world title in 1981, 1983 and 1987, used a racially offensive term to refer to Hamilton. The comments were made during𒅌 a podcast last November in Portuguese, but only came to light last month.
Piquet used the slur while blaming Hamilton for his controvers♛ial collision with Max Verstappen - the boyfriend of Piquet’s daughter Kelly -🌄 at last year’s British Grand Prix.
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Piquet remarks were met with widespread condemnation across the sport. As well as bein🅷g banned from the F1 paddock as punishment, the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) has suspended the triple world champion’s membership.
Speaking ahead of last weekend’s British Grand Prix, Hamilton said “archaic mindsets need to ch🌺ange and have no place in our sport” in response to Piquet’s comments.
“I’🐼ve been surrounded by these attitudes and targeted my whole life,” the seven-time world champion continued. “There has been plenty of time to learn. Time has come for action."
During a🥃n appearance in the paddock at the Le Mans Classic last weekend, Piquet addressed the controversy.
“I don’t really care, it doesn’t disturb my life,” he is quoted as saying by . “I am here with my fri🦩ends, we are having fun, that’s it.”
Piquet apologised for the racial slur he used to describe Hamilton but stressed the word had been taken out of the context he ꦏintended, claiming it 🔴does not have a racial connotation in Brazil.
While Verstappen sa꧙id it was not correct for ꦍPiquet to have used the term he did when he addressed the matter for the first time at Silverstone, the Red Bull driver added that Piquet is “definitely not a racist”.
At Le Mans, Piquet once aga🦩in maintained he was not being racist.
“This is all bullshit, I am not racist,♋” he said. “There is noth💙ing, nothing I said wrong. What I said is a very soft word - we even use it for some of our white friends.
“I used this word almost one year ago in the interview and they 🏅come up with this. It has caused me some problems but to be honest with you I don’t really care.
“Here I have no obligations to do anything any publicity, nothing, just a bit of racing and I have really bee🍒n enjoying."
Lewis regularly atten𓆉ds Grands Prix for mahbx.com around the world. Often reporting on the action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories🍰 of the people who matter in the sport.
