Nelson Piquet apologized for a racial slur he used to describe Lewis Hamilton and said the word he used was taken out of context he intended.
A Formula One source told ESPN Piquet, the three-time world champion, has been indefinitely banned from visiting the F1 circuit in the future as punishment for the comments.
69 years old, used a racial slur about Hamilton while blaming him for a collision with Max Verstappen, boyfriend of Piquet’s daughter, Kelly, at last year’s British Grand Prix. The comments were made in Portuguese on a podcast last November, but only came to light this week.
Hamilton tweeted in response to it on Tuesday, saying “this antiquated thinking needs to change”, while F1, several teams and drivers all released statements supporting the British driver and condemning racial segregation.
On Wednesday, Piquet, the three-time F1 champion, issued an apology and insisted the word had no racial connotations in Brazil.
“I wanted to clarify the stories circulating in the media about a comment I made in an interview last year,” Piquet said.
“What I am saying is not thought out, and I do not advocate for it, but I will clarify that the term used is one that has been widely and historically used in Brazilian Portuguese with synonymous with ‘guy’ or ‘person’ and is never meant to be offensive.I would never use the word I was accused of in some translations.
“I strongly condemn any suggestion that this word was used by me with the intent to belittle a driver because of the color of his skin. I wholeheartedly apologize to anyone affected, including Lewis. , an incredible driver, but the translation in some media That is currently spreading on social networks is not true Discrimination has no place in F1 or society and I am very much happy to clarify my thoughts on that aspect.”
