When Nelson Piquet used a racist term for Lewis Hamilton while criticizing him for the Silverstone crash with Max Verstappen.
In 2021, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen had a minor collision which sent the Dutchman flying into the barriers at a 52g force. The 2021 world champion then was taken to a nearby hospital for formality concussion checks. But he was anyway feeling his body sore.
Verstappen’s supporters didn’t take the crash well. Hamilton was booed for many races at the venues which were dominated by the orange army. Many within the racing community also criticized Hamilton for his recklessness.
This list of people also includes Nelson Piquet, former F1 champion and father of Verstappen’s girlfriend Kelly Piquet. However, his criticisms became problematic when he used a racist term to mention Hamilton.
“The little black guy put the car in and didn’t let [the other driver swerve]”, says Piquet about the episode that occurred in 2021 with Max Verstappen at Silverstone.
The statement was made on the Motorsport Talk YouTube channel and the video has over 180,000 views.
O Canal Enerto postou no YouTube um corte de uma entrevista que Nelson Piquet deu em 03/11/2021 para Ricardo Oliveira. No trecho, Nelson comenta o acidente entre Lewis e Max em Silverstone. Quando vai se referir a Lewis, Piquet utiliza uma palavra de conotação racista. Confira: pic.twitter.com/FzKCJaPZPI
— Fofocas do Paddock (@fofocaspaddock) June 22, 2022
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New dialogue on racism against Lewis Hamilton opened after Juri Vips’ case
After Juri Vips’ controversy came out, several F1 fans talked about what kind of racism Hamilton might have faced during his younger days. In the feeder competitions, where there was little accountability over people’s actions two decades ago.
Hamilton’s father in the documentary released by the BBC confessed that they used to get picked on for being “different”. Hamilton’s journey to F1 hasn’t been easy. The fact that he’s the only black driver in F1 history tells how exclusive this sport has remained over the years.
Hamilton himself advocates for more diversity in the sport, by having people of colour in key positions. The seven-time world champion also initiated his own commission, which aims to improve the representation of black people in UK motorsport.
