Nelson Piquet talks about his alleged racial comments on Lewis Hamilton and thinks the criticism is irrelevant and that he did nothing wrong.
Recently Nelson Piquet’s comments post 2021 British Grand Prix surfaced. He allegedly used a racial slur in Portuguese against Lewis Hamilton while talking about a crash between Max Verstappen and the seven-time world champion.
The resurfacing of those comments instantly got the attention of the community. The FIA, several drivers and fans criticized the former F1 champion.
Initially, Piquet responded with a press release where he said that he wouldn’t ‘defend his actions’, but wasn’t precisely apologetic for his words. Meanwhile, F1, in response, blacklisted Piquet from the paddock access.
Now, Piquet, in the second excerpt talking to Motorsport Magazine during the Le Mans, claims he said nothing wrong. He also emphasized that the criticism towards him is irrelevant.
“There is nothing, nothing I said wrong,” said Piquet. “And I don’t really care, it doesn’t disturb my life. I am here with my friends, we are having fun, that’s it,” added the three times F1 World Champion.
Brazilian court punishes Nelson Piquet for Lewis Hamilton comments
On Monday, a Brazilian court fined Piquet $1.8 Million for his comments against Hamilton. The court ruled that Piquet’s remarks morally damaged Black and LGBTQ people.
Meanwhile, several Brazilian personalities stood in favour of Hamilton. From the author of best-selling books, Paul Coelho, to Barcelona legend Dani Alves, all condemned the actions of Piquet.
On the other hand, hamilton showed his disagreement with piquet’s words on Twitter. He clearly remarked that such mindsets have no place in the sport.
Hamilton further stated that for a long he had been targetted for his skin colour, and there had been plenty of time to learn. The time has come for action.
It’s more than language. These archaic mindsets need to change and have no place in our sport. I’ve been surrounded by these attitudes and targeted my whole life. There has been plenty of time to learn. Time has come for action.
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) June 28, 2022