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Former F1 world champion Nelson Piquet defended his controversial remarks against Lewis Hamilton after claiming he is not a racist. The F1 community condemned the three-time world champion for using racist slurs against Hamilton in a video that made its rounds on social media.
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 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.”
The seven-time world champion hit back at the former world champion with a statement that read:
“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.”
Many drivers and personnel from the F1 fraternity have come out in support of Lewis Hamilton, reiterating that racism has no place in the sport.
Lewis Hamilton wasn't expecting a P3 finish in Austria
Lewis Hamilton appeared to be surprised after securing a podium at the 2022 F1 Austrian Grand Prix, having finished third in the race. The Briton was looking at a bleak weekend after crashing out hard in Friday's qualifying session. However, the world champion proved there is more than enough pace in the Mercedes W13. He managed to finish the race in P3 behind Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc. Hamilton managed to slot his car into the remaining podium spot after Carlos Sainz's retirement.
Speaking to David Coulthard after the race, the driver thanked his team, saying:
“Thank you so much and what an incredible crowd we have had here this weekend. Definitely wasn’t expecting that, yesterday was a difficult day and we have had a bit of a rough weekend. As a team we got 3rd and 4th which is great points and we move forward from here.”
Given the German team's recent performances, it is clear that they are back in the fight. However, Ferrari and Red Bull seem to be a few steps ahead of the Silver Arrows in 2022. Only time will tell whether the most successful team in the turbo-hybrid era will be able to claim the top spot on the podium once again.
