It’s been over a year since Nelson Piquet made racial comments towards Lewis Hamilton. At the time, the Brazilian Government handed Piquet a fine of $990,000. However, the government has now annulled the fine.
The 71-year-old Brazilian is credited for winning 3 Championship in Formula 1. However, in recent days he has been receiving a lot of negative media. This is due to the racial comments he has made regarding Lewis Hamilton.
Lewis is the only black driver to ever drive in Formula 1. While he was still making his name in the sport, he received a lot of racist comments from teams, drivers, and parents during his karting days. However, he battled these hurdles and made his way to Formula 1.
Another “wonderful” news bit of today is that Nelson Piquet’s offensive comments made against Lewis Hamilton back in ’21 have been “downgraded” to “debauched language” instead of hate speech, and fine annulled.
All a result of an appeal. Bloody hell. 🤦♂️ #F1 👉 pic.twitter.com/vyd5BOlXDm
— Simon Dau (@there_is_no_if) October 14, 2023
Since arriving in Formula 1, he made the world know that he is not a driver to be reckoned with. He was teamed up against the reigning World Champion in his rookie year at McLaren. By the end of his rookie season, Lewis Hamilton was equal with Fernando Alonso in points and the 2 were just 1 point away from the Championship leader, Kimi Raikkonen.
Nelson Piquet was struck with a $990,000 fine for his racial comments. He had appealed it at the time but was rejected. However, now, the government has now annulled the fine, letting Piquet get away scot-free. Piquet is still banned from entering the F1 paddock at any race. So this should keep him away from attending the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Ever since Piquet’s negative media started, some of his fellow drivers have come forward saying that Piquet won his Championships due to luck. Some believe that there is no way Piquet could have beaten Nigel Mansell just on pure pace. However, the history books say that Piquet has 3 Championships to his name.
What triggered the shocking Lewis Hamilton-Nelson Piquet saga?
In 2021, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were intensely battling for the Championship. Max Verstappen had already started dating Kelly Piquet seriously at the time. Kelly attended multiple Grand Prix to support her boyfriend’s hunt for the Championship. Kelly Piquet is the daughter of the 3-time Champion, Nelson Piquet.
During the 2021 British Grand Prix, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton showcased one of the most entertaining opening laps after a long time. They started battling each other for the lead of the race right from the start until the Copse corner. When the 2 cars were approaching Copse Corner, Lewis attempted an overtake on the inside but hit Max’s rear wheel. This sent Max and his Red Bull speeding into the barriers. Lewis Hamilton was penalized with a 10-second penalty for the incident.
Bom dia meus amigos!
A Justiça brasileira é eficientíssima quando se trata de punir pobre, preto e minorias. Já, para brancos milionários, a história é bem outra.
O TJ do DF ACATOU recurso do bolsonarista Nelson Piquet e ANULOU a indenização que havia sido imposta em primeira… pic.twitter.com/VSt1SsHhiY— Rede Marco (@rede_marco) October 13, 2023
After the incident, Nelson Piquet gave an interview and was asked about the incident. During his reply, he called Lewis Hamilton a “neguinho” – a word that translates from Portuguese as “little Black man”. Naturally, this angered a lot of fans and members of the paddock including teams and drivers. This is what started the feud between Lewis Hamilton and Nelson Piquet.
Piquet’s words have now been deemed a deboche – a mockery – but not rising to the level of discurso de odio – hate speech. This is the reason why the Brazilian Government has decided to annul the fine that was placed earlier.
