Nelson Piquet dishonored Formula One, dishonored his own standing, and dishonored those who know him by making racially abusive remarks about Sir Lewis Hamilton. Piquet competed in Formula 1 between 1978 – 1991 winning the driver’s title 3 times. Piquet wasn’t the most diplomatic of personalities and caused offense even during his time in the sport. Video footage has emerged online of Piquet discussing the 2021 British Grand Prix which saw Max Verstappen clashing with Lewis Hamilton. Verstappen ended up in the wall after trying to squeeze Hamilton at the exit of the highspeed corner Copse.

The pair battled hard on the opening lap and eventually collied which sent Verstappen skirting across the gravel trap and impacting into the barriers with a force of 52G. Hamilton prevailed and won the race while Verstappen was taken to hospital as is standard for such a high-speed crash. Later that year Piquet filmed an interview discussing the incident and used derogatory and racist terms to refer to Lewis Hamilton.

I am not going to reveal what Piquet said, but racists are racist because they want to humiliate and demean people whom they consider to be inferior purely because of their skin colour. What would Piquet have said if the situation at the 2021 British Grand Prix was reversed? What would Piquet have said if Hamilton ended up in the wall instead of Verstappen?

One can imagine Piquet would have opted to use a racial slur perhaps adding that Hamilton deserved to end up in the wall because he clearly tried to squeeze Verstappen. This is how racists think, they have double standards, are self-righteous and believe in the superiority of their racial purity. Racists have no self-awareness and see the black population as servile, a people who should be locked into eternal servitude.

And if black people step out of this white man’s mindset then they are seen as dangerous and too stupid to understand anything. This is how Piquet thinks of black people, yet it is Piquet who is too stupid and dangerous because he lacks knowledge, empathy, and an understanding of what it means to be civilised. Nelson Piquet will simply not care because he is either too rich or too out of touch with reality.

The FIA, Formula One’s governing body released a statement in support of Hamilton:

“The FIA strongly condemns any racist or discriminatory language and behaviour, which have no place in sport or wider society.

“We express our solidarity with Lewis Hamilton and fully support his commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion in motor sport.”

Mercedes AMG F1 came out to support their driver by saying:

“We condemn in the strongest terms any use of racist or discriminatory language of any kind. 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.”