Nelson Piquet has apologized “wholeheartedly” to Lewis Hamilton, but “strongly condemns any suggestion” that the expression he used when referring to the F1 ace during an interview was racially offensive.
The three-time world champion, who is the father of Max Verstappen’s partner Kelly Piquet, used a racial insult in Portuguese when he spoke of a collision between Hamilton and Verstappen during the 2021 British GP in a Brazilian podcast last November.
It is reported that the word used by the 69-year-old is equivalent to or similar to the word N.
But he insisted the word he used had been mistranslated and denied that “it was used by me for the purpose of belittling a driver for his skin color.”
Piquet said in a statement: “I would like to clarify the stories circulating in the media about a comment I made in an interview last year.
“What I said was ill-thought out, and I will not defend it, but I clarify that the term used is a term that has been used widely and historically colloquially in Brazilian Portuguese as a synonym for ‘man’ or ‘person ‘and never wanted to offend.
“I would never use the word I have been accused of in some translations. I strongly condemn any suggestion that the word be used by me for the purpose of belittling a driver for his skin color.
“I sincerely apologize to everyone involved, including Lewis, who is an amazing driver, but the translation in some media that is now circulating on social media is not correct. Discrimination has no place in F1 or society and I am pleased to clarify this. My thoughts in this regard. “
The PA news agency understands that Piquet’s access to the Formula 1 paddock could be revoked if he did not publicly apologize.
His comments came to light yesterday, and the governing body of Formula 1, the FIA and the Hamilton Mercedes team, immediately condemned “in the strongest terms any use of racist or discriminatory language of any kind. “.
Image: Verstappen with his girlfriend Kelly Piquet
Hamilton also responded, tweeting, “It’s more than a language. These archaic mindsets have to change and have no place in our sport. I’ve been surrounded by these attitudes and I’ve been aiming for my whole life. It’s been a long time. to learn. Time. has come into action “.
His Mercedes teammate George Russell and Charles Leclerc of Ferrari also gave their full support to Hamilton by posting messages of support on Twitter.
Russell said Hamilton “has done more for the sport than any other driver in history, not just on the track, but off it,” adding, “The fact that he and so many others still have to do “We all need to unite against any kind of discrimination.”
Leclerc said: “Knowing Lewis since I got into Formula 1 has always been extremely respectful of me and everyone I know. These values should be the standard for anyone around the world.
“The comments made to Lewis must not be tolerated and we must continue to promote a more diverse and inclusive sport. We must eliminate discriminatory behavior and racist language in any form not only from our sport, but also from our society “.