Former Brazilian racing driver Nelson Piquet competed in Formula One from 1978 to 1991 but its a video of his racist comments for Lewis Hamilton which has seen him take centrestage
He won the title three times, in 1981, 1983, and 1987, making him a three-time World Drivers’ Champion.
Due to a number of remarks, he made regarding Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time WDC world champion, the Formula One veteran has recently been in the news. Before switching to Brabham in 1979 and winning his first championship in 1981, Piquet made his Formula One debut in 1978 with the Ensign team. Afterwards, in 1986, he joined the Williams team. Later, in 1988, he transferred to Lotus, and in 1991, he announced his retirement from the sport.
Piquet won 23 Grand Prix races in total during his career thanks to his aggressive driving style and technical prowess.
Video of Nelson Piquet calling Lewis Hamilton the N word and using racist comments resurfaces after fine
What comments did Nelson Piquet make?
Nelson Piquet ‘calls Lewis Hamilton the N-word with english subtitles
by u/Quarkert in lewishamilton
🚨 Formula One champion Nelson Piquet must pay 5 million Brazilian Reals ($953,050) in moral damages for racist and homophobic comments against Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, a Brazilian court ruled on Friday.⚖️
[@ReutersSports] pic.twitter.com/D13NbiCC7p
— Hamilton Insights (@LH44_insights) March 25, 2023
Nelson Piquet has come under fire for remarks he made about Lewis Hamilton that were homophobic and racially insensitive. The statements from a Brazilian podcast were made in June and July 2022 and shared on social media. Piquet accused Hamilton of creating a race-related crash and used a racial slur in one of the videos. He made homophobic and disparaging remarks about F1 driver Nico Rosberg and his father in another video.
“The n*gger put the car in the wrong way and didn’t let the other driver swerve. The n*gger put the car in the wrong way on the corner, it’s because you don’t know the curve,” he said about Lewis Hamilton.
He spoke about Keke Rosberg and his son, Nico “Keke? He was a sh*t! Zero value. His son [Nico] won the championship. The ‘n*gger was [more focused on] giving a** at that time. He was kinda bad.”
Nelson Piquet called Lewis Hamilton the n-word and I haven’t seen any big F1 news outlet or anyone within the F1 community call him out for it.
— iesh🍒 (@lewishamil7on) June 27, 2022
Piquet made an effort to apologise for his remarks, saying that he didn’t mean to offend. His use of a racially offensive phrase, however, was roundly denounced. However, many pointed out that the term had a long history of being used as a racial slur. In his apologies, Piquet said that the term he used was used informally in Brazilian Portuguese to refer to a person or a gentleman.
The rediscovery of Piquet’s remarks, however, spurred a discussion regarding racism and discrimination in motorsports. Several spectators and experts demanded tougher measures be adopted to stop this kind of conduct in sports. Throughout his career, Hamilton has faced racism and discrimination, and he has been a vocal supporter of equality and diversity in motorsports. The incident made it clear that more has to be done to encourage diversity and fight prejudice in all facets of the sport.
Lewis Hamilton’s perspective on Nelson Piquet’s remark and its effects
Having experienced such attitudes throughout his life, Hamilton responded on Twitter, saying that such “archaic ideas” have no place in the sport. To stop discrimination in motorsports, he urged action. He wrote on Twitter, “It’s not just about words. I’ve spent my entire life surrounded by these attitudes and targets, and they need to change because they have no place in our sport. There has been ample opportunity for learning. The moment has come to act.
Lewis Hamilton has condemned Nelson Piquet's racial slur. pic.twitter.com/ZjFNySsU7l
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) June 28, 2022
A Brazilian court has determined that Piquet would be fined around $1 million. Piquet was hit with the allegations by four groups.