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“He might have gone through this his entire life” – Sebastian Vettel defends Lewis Hamilton after Nelson Piquet’s racist comments

Ananya Bangera
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"He might have gone through this his entire life" - Sebastian Vettel defends Lewis Hamilton after Nelson Piquet's racist comments

Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel talks about how Lewis Hamilton and his family might have faced racism his entire life.

Following Nelson Piquet’s racial remarks, most of the F1 community has come forward to express their support for Lewis Hamilton.

Many of the F1 team and drivers took to social media to speak out against the remarks made by the former F1 driver.

The four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, who abstains from using social media, also voiced his opinions in an interview recently.

There should be no room for these kinds of comments says

Vettel said, “It is more than just the recent days if we are very honest. It is probably what he has been through, and his family, his entire life.”

He feels that any form of abuse is wrong and was quite encouraged to see such a swift and widespread response from the F1 community; expressing support for Lewis in this situation.

The Aston Martin driver added, “I don’t think there should be any room for these kinds of comments. We still have them a lot…”.

He thinks that the F1 community has progressed considerably since many years ago, but it doesn’t help when people continue to say offensive things and use offensive language.

Vettel further explains how important it is to talk about these things because they won’t change overnight. He believes that F1 in this regard has a responsibility to address these issues and is pleased to see them going in that direction.

Also read: 210 million books selling author extends apologies to Lewis Hamilton

Sebastian Vettel insists on F1 addressing issues of diversity

The league introduced the “We Race As One” campaign in 2020, which focused on diversity, inclusion, and sustainability. Vettel often joined Lewis Hamilton in the pre-race ceremony to highlight major issues across the world.

When F1 responded immediately to condone Piquet’s remarks, the situation put the sport’s “WeRaceAsOne” policy to the test for the first time.

Emphasizing the importance of F1 being accessible to all; Vettel continued that through the campaign it was made clear where the sport is heading and where they want to be in the future.

“More than language, and the things we are trying to do, is how we behave and how we include everyone there is. No matter which colour you are, what type of partner you have, what is your sexual orientation, every community is welcome,” he continued.

“We should always respond in that way very quickly and make it clear we are open to everyone. Kindness matters, people matter and it was bad to see what was going on.”

Also read: Max Verstappen’s girlfriend likes Rodrigo Piquet post defending her father’s n-word comment

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