Hamilton racially abused by Nelson Piquet
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As a result of Nelson Piquet’s racist comments against Lewis Hamilton, a Brazilian court has ordered him to open his wallet.
Following language used in June 2022, the triple Formula 1 world champion (1981, 1983, 1987) will be fined five million Brazilian reais (953,000 dollars, 18 million Mexican pesos).
Four human rights organizations, including Brazil’s National LGBTIQ+ Alliance, have charged Verstappen’s father-in-law (father of his girlfriend, Kelly Piquet) with 10 million reais in fines for his words.
But this figure was not the one imposed by Judge Pedro Matos de Arrudo. He fined Hamilton millions for racial abuse.
“Social responsibility has both remedial and punitive functions, so that as a society, we may one day be free from the pernicious acts of racism and homophobia,” he said.
Lewis Hamilton accused of racist insults by Nelson Piquet
The ‘negrito’ (referring to Hamilton) put the car down and left because two cars could not pass through that corner. He played dirty. Piquet said that he was fortunate that only the other driver was hurt when he collided with Max Verstappen at the British Grand Prix in 2021.
As a result of Nelson Piquet’s statements, Formula 1 released a statement condemning the facts, which it considered racist.
It is unacceptable to use discriminatory language in any form in society. Lewis is an incredible ambassador for our sport, and deserves respect,” they said.
Nelson Piquet came to his defense and apologized: “What I said was unfortunate, and I am not defending him. However, I should clarify that this term is used colloquially in Portuguese, and it was never meant to be offensive.”
“I would never use that word, as some translations did, to disparage someone because of their skin color.”.
Despite its use in different cultures, Max Verstappen defended his father-in-law: “It wasn’t the right thing to say. But I think it’s a lesson for the future not to use that word.”
