Lewis Hamilton has appeared on the scene to show his disgust at Nelson Piquet’s racist comment.
Piquet used the Portuguese term “neginho” (“little n****r”) to refer in a derogatory way to the seven-time champion when analysing the coming together between Hamilton and Max Verstappen at Silverstone last season.
Alarm bells have gone off in the sport, with F1 and Mercedes releasing statements and with Hamilton, through social media, then speaking out on this issue too.
“Let’s focus on changing the mentality,” he said in one tweet written in Portuguese.
He then tweeted in English in more detail and, rather than address Piquet directly and create a public argument, Hamilton talked about how he has been surrounded by these events all of his life.
“It’s more than language,” he said.
“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.”
Formula 1 is a sport that has struggled for black representation throughout its history and Hamilton is still the only black driver on the grid. It is a topic he has spoken about in-depth on many occasions.
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