The Piquet family seems to have lost respect among F1 fans after Nelson Piquet had his appeal denied for the racist and homophobic remarks he made about Lewis Hamilton back in 2021. While the Brazilian eventually did apologize for his remarks, the damage had already been done. Nelson was fined a staggering $1,000,000 for the same and banned from visiting the paddock. A few months later, the Piquet family seems to have stirred up the drama by raising an issue. Nelson’s daughter, Julia, seems unhappy that F1 did not give their best wishes to her father on his 71st birthday.
She took to Twitter and hit back at F1. Her post read, “Well…I see getting cancelled by the court of public opinion means no longer deserving happy birthday tweets or recognition of his incredible feats? Shame on you @F1 for turning your back on one of F1’s greatest champions. A three-time champion to be exact“.
Julia’s post did not end there as she then fired a five-worded threat. The 31-year-old concluded her post by writing, “I will never, ever, forget“. Since her Twitter account is private, she took a screenshot of the same and posted it on her Instagram story. Julia’s post seems to have riled up fans, who have hit back at her and credited F1.
“F1 doing something right“: Fans react to Julia’s post about Nelson Piquet
Soon after Julia Piquet put up her post, fans such as Stefanie wrote, “F1 doing something right for once“.
F1 doing something right for once 👏🏽 https://t.co/gdYensVcPr
— Stefanie (@fastpitstop) August 19, 2023
Meanwhile, some other fans such as Molly believe that Nelson Piquet does not deserve birthday wishes from F1 after his comments on Lewis Hamilton.
I mean, yeah, when you say something wildly racist and homophobic about a fellow driver, you absolutely do NOT deserve birthday wishes from F1.
Wanna be beloved by fans and the sport? Don’t be a bigot!
— Molly | LH44 (@MollyFS44) August 19, 2023
And then there are some other fans who have expressed their surprise after reading Julia’s post.
The fact they think his titles outweigh the language he uses is a prank 😅
— FwdSlashF1 (@FwdSlashF1) August 19, 2023
What did Nelson Piquet say about Lewis Hamilton?
Nelson Piquet made headlines all around the world back in 2021 after he passed a racial slur against Lewis Hamilton. In an interview with Motorsport Talk YouTube channel, the 71-year-old had said (translated from Portuguese), “The little black guy put the car in and didn’t let [the other driver swerve]“.
On reading the Brazilian’s remarks, Hamilton simply took to Twitter and condemned it. The Briton put up a series of posts to explain why such “archaic mindsets need to change“. The 38-year-old believes that the time has now come for action, having been targeted his whole life.
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
However, this is not the only reason that has made the Piquet family infamous. Nelson’s nephew, Cristiano, is currently in deep waters after he reportedly aided the illegal sale of $3,000,000 worth luxury goods. As a result of the same, reports suggest that Cristiano perhaps could be put behind bars.