Nelson Piquet to pay $1 million after his appeal was denied by court for using racial speech against Lewis Hamilton

Three-time F1 champion Nelson Piquet's fine, issued for making racist comments about Lewis Hamilton, will not be overturned. Piquet will now have to pay $1 million (£780,000) in 'moral damages' according to a report by Globo.

Last year, three-time F1 champion Nelson Piquet was in the news for making racist and homophobic comments about Lewis Hamilton. Piquet made the comments in an interview in November 2021. Another instance of him using such language came in an interview back in 2016 when Hamilton lost the F1 title to Nico Rosberg.

After multiple instances of Piquet's racist comments about Hamilton came to light, a court case was brought against the Brazilian, by four human rights groups including Brazil’s LGBTQ+ Alliance.

Last year, when his interview came to light, Piquet immediately apologized for the comments, adding that the terms were mistranslated. He said:

"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."

He continued:

"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."

Nelson Piquet had been fined the same amount in March this year, but he appealed to overturn the fine. However, after losing out on the appeal the three-time F1 champion will have to pay the six-figure amount to funds to promote racial equality and

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Lewis Hamilton drops a major hint about his Mercedes contract

Lewis Hamilton's contract negotiation saga has been in the news since the season opener, as both parties haven't signed the deal. Although it is most likely that Hamilton will stay with the team, rumors of him joining Ferrari are still going strong.

After finishing second in the Spanish GP, Hamilton said in the post-race press conference:

"I haven't signed anything yet, but I think we are meeting with Toto tomorrow [Monday] so hopefully we can get something done. It wasn't a subtle hint. We've had so many meetings and this is just another one of the meetings we are having."

He added:

"You could see today my performance is not affected by that, but it's always something that's at the back of your mind. Once that's done then you are able to then focus more and think about the future. I'm working as hard as I can with this team and I see so much strength within the team. They are still so hungry."

Hamilton currently sits fourth in the drivers' championship, after his second-place finish at the Spanish GP.