Formula 1 and Mercedes have condemned racist language used by three-time world champion Nelson Piquet to describe Lewis Hamilton.
The interview, which took place in Portuguese back in November, discusses Hamilton’s win at last year’s British Grand Prix, when the seven-time champion collided with then-Championship leader Max Verstappen on the opening lap.
The Dutchman spun out and crashed into the barrier, causing uproar at Red Bull as Hamilton sprung back into the Championship race.
Yet Piquet, 69, believed Hamilton crashed into Verstappen on purpose and twice used the term “neguinho” to describe the Mercedes star. The Brazilian is the father of Verstappen’s girlfriend, Kelly Piquet.
“The neguinho put the car in the wrong way and didn’t let [the other driver swerve],” he told Brazilian publication Estadao in a video released on Monday.
“The neguinho put the car in the wrong way on the corner, it’s because you don’t know the curve. It’s a very high curve, there is no way to pass two cars and there’s no way you can put the car aside. He did [Verstappen] dirty. His luck was that only the other one was gone.”
Formula 1 came out on Tuesday morning in response to the resurfacing of the interview, saying in a statement: “Discriminatory or racist language is unacceptable in any form and has no part in society. Lewis is an incredible ambassador for our sport and deserves respect.
“(Hamilton’s) tireless efforts to increase diversity and inclusion are a lesson to many and something we are committed to at F1.”
Hamilton’s team, constructors champions Mercedes, also released a statement, condeming the language and labelling Hamilton a “true champion of diversity on and off track.”
It read: “We condemn in the strongest terms any use of racist or discriminatory language of any kind. Lewis has spearheaded our sport’s efforts to combat racism, and he is a true champion of diversity on and off track.
“Together, we share a vision for a diverse and inclusive motorsport, and this incident underlines the fundamental importance of continuing to strive for a brighter future.”
The British Grand Prix takes place this weekend, with Verstappen in a commanding position at the top of the Championship leaderboard – 46 points clear of closest challenger Sergio Perez – while Hamilton is sixth in the standings, a mammoth 98 points behind the Dutchman after just nine races.
