Nelson Piquet aims homophobic slur at Lewis Hamilton and calls him the N-word AGAIN as further footage of podcast interview emerges ahead of British Grand Prix
- Piquet apologised ‘wholeheartedly’ this week for using an offensive expression
- But now further concerning comments have emerged from a podcast interview
- Hamilton said: ‘Archaic mindsets need to change and have no place in our sport’
The racism row surrounding Nelson Piquet went into another gear today as it emerged the former F1 world champion also aimed a homophobic slur at Lewis Hamilton – and called him the N-word again.
Piquet apologised ‘wholeheartedly’ earlier this week for using an offensive expression when discussing Hamilton in an interview last year, but insisted the word he used was mistranslated.
He has since been banned from the paddock, but now further offensive comments have surfaced.
Speaking on a Brazilian podcast, as reported by Sky Sports, Piquet said: ‘Keke [Rosberg] was s***. He’s worthless. His son won a championship.’
Asked whether he was referring to Nico Rosberg, he said of Hamilton: ‘The [racist term] must have been [homophobic slur] at the time. He was pretty bad.’
The racism row surrounding Nelson Piquet (pictured) went into another gear today as it emerged the former F1 world champion also aimed a homophobic slur at Lewis Hamilton
Piquet apologised ‘wholeheartedly’ earlier this week for using an offensive expression when discussion Hamilton (pictured) in an interview last year, but insisted the word he used was mistranslated
Piquet faced a severe backlash from fans yesterday after using the derogatory Portuguese phrase ‘neguinho’ while referring to the seven-time world champion
He said in a statement: ‘I would like to clear up the stories circulating in the media about a comment I made in an interview last year.
‘What I said 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.’
Brazilian Piquet, a three-time world champion, was reported to have been discussing a collision between Hamilton and rival Max Verstappen on the opening lap at Silverstone, which saw the Dutchman retire from the race.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton posted on Twitter: ‘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.’
An F1 statement read: ‘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.
‘His tireless efforts to increase diversity and inclusion are a lesson to many and something we are committed to at F1.’
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