LEWIS HAMILTON has responded to three-time world champion Nelson Piquet after audio from an interview following the 2021 British Grand Prix emerged this week.
The three-time world champion Piquet (69) used racist language toward the Englishman in the interview.
Piquet was speaking about a collision between 2021's champion Max Verstappen and Hamilton and used the term Brazilian term ‘neguinho'.
Formula 1 and Mercedes have condemned the racially abusive language used by former world champion Nelson Piquet when referring to Lewis Hamilton during a Brazilian podcast last November.
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) June 28, 2022
“The neguinho put the car in the wrong way and didn’t let [the other driver swerve],” he told Brazilian publication Estadao in a video released on Monday.
Piquet, who is the father of Verstappen's current girlfriend, added: “The neguinho put the car in the wrong way on the corner, it’s because you don’t know the curve. It’s a very high curve, there is no way to pass two cars and there’s no way you can put the car aside. He did [Verstappen] dirty. His luck was that only the other one was gone.”
A number of statements were released after the comments made by the former F1 driver
"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," Formula One said in their statement.
"His tireless efforts to increase diversity and inclusion are a lesson to many and something we are committed to at F1."
Mercedes also released their own statement
"We condemn in the strongest terms any use of racist or discriminatory language of any kind," their statement read.
"Lewis has spearheaded our sport's efforts to combat racism, and he is a true champion of diversity on and off track.
"Together, we share a vision for a diverse and inclusive motorsport, and this incident underlines the fundamental importance of continuing to strive for a brighter future."
Now Hamilton himself has responded to the remark by tweeting out a similar message
He tweeted firstly 'Vamos focar em mudar a mentalidade', which translates to 'Let's focus on changing the mindset.'
His second tweet said: "It’s more than language", the 37-year-old added.
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.
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.
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) June 28, 2022
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