Formula 1 bosses could ban Nelson Piquet for life following the Brazilian's racist abuse of Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.
Piquet—whose daughter, Kelly, is in a relationship with Red Bull 's Max Verstappen —has been widely condemned for his comments in a 2021 interview. During the audio clip, the three-time world champion can be heard calling Hamilton "neguinho" (an epithet that translates to 'n****r').
"The n****r put the car in the wrong way and didn't let [the other driver swerve]," the 69-year-old said in Portuguese while describing a clash between Hamilton and Verstappen last year. "The n****r 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."
The Sun reported Piquet could face a lifetime ban from the sport in which he was crowned world champion in 1981, 1983 and 1987. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was among the first to show his support for Hamilton and said F1 has to "remove discriminatory behaviour and racist language in any form."
Hamilton was quick to respond and tweeted in Portuguese that the community must "focus on changing the mindset." The Silver Arrows star added the "time has come for action," having raised concern with F1's racial inequality in the past.
Hamilton has become something of a symbol in the fight for equality and remains the only black driver on the current F1 grid. The seven-time world champion has run the risk of incurring the FIA's wrath in the past by promoting messages and the Black Lives Matter movement via t-shirts and slogans.
He joined former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick in taking the knee as a form of protest against the police's discrimination against minorities in the United States. He also wore a shirt at the Tuscan Grand Prix in 2020 that read 'Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor', highlighting the tragedy in which Taylor was unlawfully killed in her home.
“Discriminatory or racist language is unacceptable and has no part in society," read an F1 statement in support of Hamilton. “Lewis is an incredible ambassador for our sport and deserves respect. His tireless efforts to increase diversity and inclusion are a lesson to many and something we are committed to at F1.”
Red Bull announced on Tuesday the manufacturer had terminated the contract of junior driver Juri Vips after he used racist language on streaming site Twitch. Footage emerged of Estonian prospect Vips, 21, saying "n****r" in frustration while playing a video game online with friends.
"Following its investigation into an online incident involving Juri Vips, Oracle Red Bull Racing has terminated Juri's contract as its test & reserve driver," read a statement from the F1 giants. "The team do not condone any form of racism."
Piquet's comments emerged in the build-up to Sunday's British Grand Prix, where Hamilton hopes to tighten his grip as the race's most successful driver of all time. The 37-year-old has won eight times at Silverstone to date—three more than any other driver—including seven of the last eight editions.
