Most of the F1 community have risen up to voice their support towards Lewis Hamilton after Nelson Piquet’s racist comments.
Piquet, who is a three-time F1 Champion shocked and upset the whole community when he used racially discriminatory terms to describe Hamilton in a podcast.
He made the comments in a podcast last November, but they have resurfaced only recently. It has led to major backlash, with several figures within F1 rising up to defend Hamilton and condemn Piquet’s words.
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) June 28, 2022
F1 and Mercedes were one of the first to openly speak out and denounce the former F1 driver’s comments. Soon, Scuderia Ferrari too joined in by making a statement. “Standing with you, Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton” it read.
Hamilton and Mercedes fans however, were waiting to see if Red Bull were going to make a similar statement. Recent reports however, have left the fanbase and F1 fans as a whole very disappointed.
Lewis Hamilton won’t receive public support from Red Bull racing
Red Bull and Mercedes have been arch rivals for quite a few years now. As a result, the Austrian outfit standing up for their rivals in time of need would have been a nice gesture, but F1 journalist Chris Medland revealed that they have no plans of doing so.
“Have been at Red Bull this morning,” he said on Twitter. “But the team says it won’t be issuing a statement on Piquet’s comments.”
Ferrari in reply to the Mercedes statement. Have been at Red Bull this morning (for its hypercar launch) but the team says it won’t be issuing a statement on Piquet’s comments #F1 https://t.co/yHyiFt2vD3
— Chris Medland (@ChrisMedlandF1) June 28, 2022
Red Bull have been under fire recently, after their junior driver Juri Vips was caught using racial slurs in a live stream. For that incident however, they reacted quickly and suspended him from his daily duties with immediate effect.
They are under more pressure because their star driver Max Verstappen’s partner is Kelly Piquet, who is Nelson’s daughter. It may be a reason as to why they have chosen to temporarily remain silent on the matter.
However, fans are still angered at the fact that a team with a platform and reach as big as Red Bull’s is choosing to not take a stand against racism in the sport.
