Early last year, a resurfaced video of Nelson Piquet had shaken up the F1 community. Flagged for his disturbing remarks against Lewis Hamilton, the situation escalated as the man was taken to court.
After a long battle for what’s right, the Brazilian champion finally faces a verdict. As Hamilton had mentioned before, “It’s more than language…There has been plenty of time to learn. Time has come for action.”
Nelson Piquet faces a heavy fine
According to Brazilian journalist Anselmo Gois, Piquet is facing a public civil lawsuit initiated by various entities and social organizations, such as Educafro and the National LGBTI+ Alliance. These groups have requested a compensation of R$10 million [$1,950,00], which they believe would be a fair reparation for the collective harm caused.
Having been accused of racism and homophobia, the now-viral interview triggered worldwide outrage. Now a target of a public civil action, the public ministry of Brazil hence stated that “in the case under discussion, violations of the rights of the victim and the black and LGBTQIA+ population were configured, considering both the level of international and national regulation.”
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The prosecutor also points out that Piquet’s attitude and prejudice are a clear reflection of his perception of black professionals, “unable to be successful due to his competence, making it necessary to use other means, such as subjugation, humiliation and inferiority before white people who follow hetero-normative standards.”
Hence, the case against Piquet drones on as Brazil fights for justice on behalf of its hero, Lewis Hamilton.
Piquet’s apology to Lewis Hamilton
Piquet was caught red-handed after using racing slurs against Hamilton while criticizing his duels with Max Verstappen in 2021. As soon as things got sour, Piquet was quick to make a public apology to Hamilton.
“What I said was ill thought out, and I make no defense for it, but I will clarify that the term used is one that has widely and historically been used colloquially in Brazilian Portuguese as a synonym for ‘guy’ or ‘person’ and was never intended to offend.”
Claiming that the meaning was lost in translation, Piquet begged, “I strongly condemn any suggestion that the word was used by me with the aim of belittling a driver because of his skin color.”
However, with his own county that shares his language, standing against him, his apology is questionable. As Hamilton said, the time has come for action.
