Formula 1 and Mercedes condemned Nelson Piquet's racist comment on Lewis Hamilton [Video]

The last and condemned episode of racism came to Formula 1 and has as its protagonist the three-time world champion Nelson Piquet, who called Lewis Hamilton a “black” in a recent interview. F1 and the Mercedes team spoke out and condemned the language used by the Brazilian

In what context did he say “little black”? In the interview he was asked about the incident between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at Silverstone last year. The drivers collided on the first lap, the English GP was just beginning and Max went straight into a retaining wall to abandon the race.

Hamilton stayed on the track, he was sanctioned with 10 seconds, but this did not prevent him with his Mercedes from going after the victory on the track that he considers his home. So, Piquet was compared to this incident with the one between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in the fight for the title of 1990, in Japan.

“What happened at Silverstone? The black (Hamilton) put the car and left. Senna didn’t do that. Senna went straight ahead. Do you really think he wasn’t going to turn? He was like, ‘I’ll do it here anyway.’ The little black man got in the car and left because there was no way two cars could go through that curve. He played dirty. He was lucky that only the other driver (Verstappen) was screwed,” Piquet said, repeating the racist term twice in a derogatory manner.

Nelsol Piquet has 69 years old, won 23 races and conquered 23 poles. In addition to achieving the drivers’ title in the years 1981, 1983 and 1987 in F1. In addition, he is the father of Kelly Piquet, the model who is the current partner of the driver Max Verstappen.

Strong responses from F1 and Mercedes

Because it is a character like Piquet, who is three times world champion and with you authorized to comment on Formula 1, the highest competition body condemned these statements by the Brazilian.

“Discriminatory or racist language is unacceptable in any of its forms and has no place in society. Lewis is an incredible ambassador for our sport and he deserves respect. Relentless efforts to increase diversity and inclusion are a lesson to all and something we are committed to in F1,” they wrote in a statement.

In addition to them, the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team supported their driver with another statement in solidarity with him.

“We strongly condemn any use of racist or discriminatory language. Lewis has led our sport’s efforts to combat racism and is a true champion of diversity on and off the track. Together we share a vision of a diverse and inclusive competition and this incident underscores the critical importance of continuing to strive for a bright future.”

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