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Nelson Piquet could be charged with a £1.5 million fine after using racial slurs against Lewis Hamilton in a podcast interview last year. The three-time world champion has been summoned to the Federal court in Brazil over the matter and might be fined heavily for his actions.
The world champion's comments surfaced online last month, leading to widespread condemnation of the former driver. Piquet has also been banned from the F1 paddock by the sport for his racially motivated words against Lewis Hamilton, who has been fighting against racism in the sport since before his entry into F1 in 2007.
A combined case has been brought against Piquet by four human rights groups, who want legal action under the allegation of causing moral and sentimental damage to people of color and the LGBTQ+ community. The former driver will be fined £1.5 million if he is found guilty in court.
Mercedes' Hamilton commented on the Brazilian's use of words, saying:
“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.”
The seven-time world champion has since received the support of almost the entire F1 community, including drivers such as Charles Leclerc and Daniel Ricciardo.
Nelson Piquet defended his comments against Lewis Hamilton
Former F1 world champion Nelson Piquet defended his controversial remarks against Lewis Hamilton after claiming he is not a racist. Piquet deemed the allegations against him as "bullsh*t", claiming the differences between his native language and English led to improper translations of the apparently commonly used word.
The Brazilian had initially apologized for his use of language against Lewis Hamilton and has since been banned from the paddock by the sport. The former driver has also claimed that he doesn't really care about the problems his words have caused him.
Nelson Piquet told Motorsport Magazine:
“This is all bulls***, I am not racist. There is nothing, nothing I said wrong. What I said is a very soft word — we even use it for some of our white friends. I used this word almost one year ago in the interview and they come up with this. It has caused me some problems but to be honest with you I don’t really care.”
While Piquet may or may not be found guilty in the court of law, the former world champion has definitely lost the battle in the people's court, with thousands of people calling him out for the use of inappropriate language.
