Piquet apologises to Hamilton in statement after 'racial slur' interview

Nelson Piquet has released a statement apologising to Lewis Hamilton, after yesterday's controversy over words he used in an interview to describe the Mercedes driver

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June 29th 2022

Piquet has now moved to apologise to Hamilton – but the driver believes the situation represents a wider problem

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Nelson Piquet has released a statement apologising to Lewis Hamilton after using what was interpreted as an abusive term to describe the seven-time champion in an interview.

The Brazilian has now said that his comments “were ill-thought out and I make no defence for it.”

The former Brabham, Lotus and Benetton driver had been speaking about the Hamilton-Verstappen Silverstone incident in a podcast recorded last year when he used a term referring to the Mercedes driver by his skin colour.

Surfacing yesterday, the interview caused wide spread outrage, with Hamilton himself saying “time has come for action” in response on social media.

There had been calls for the famously outspoken Brazilian to be banned from the paddock, but he has now moved to clarify his comments and apologise to the Mercedes driver, who last year was locked in a fierce title fight with Verstappen, the boyfriend of Piquet’s daughter Kelly.

'Time has come for action', says Lewis Hamilton after Nelson Piquet's racially abusive insult

Lewis Hamilton has said that there's no place in Formula 1 for the racist language and mindset of Nelson Piquet, who used an abusive term to describe the Mercedes driver

28th June 2022

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“I would like to clear up the stories circulating in the media about a comment I made in an interview last year,” Piquet said.

“What I said was was ill thought out, and I make no defence for it, but I will clarify that the term used is one that has widely and historically been used colloquially in Brazilian Portuguese as a synonym for ‘guy’ or ‘person’ and was never intended to offend.

“I would never use the word I have been accused of in some translations. I strongly condemn any suggestion that the word was used by me with the aim of belittling a driver because of his skin colour.

“I apologise wholeheartedly to anyone that was affected, including Lewis, who is an incredible driver. But the translation in some media that is now circulating on social media is not correct.

“Discrimination has no place in F1 or society and I am happy to clarify my thoughts in that respect.”