Formula One Update: Lewis Hamilton Hits Back At Nelson Piquet

When we look at Formula One, the motorsport organization has not successfully excluded racism over the decades. Despite many efforts to combat racism and gender bias, F1 continues to plunge into racism. Recently, the Formula 1 community was up in arms due to comment made by none other than the three-time F1 champion: Nelson Piquet.

Racing News / Talking about the collision of Hamilton and Max Verstappen in the Grand Prix race, Piquet made “emphatic” and racial comments about Hamilton.

In a Portuguese podcast, Piquet made “derogatory and racial” remarks about Lewis Hamilton. Piquet’s comments came after the Grand Prix of last year. Hinting at the incident where Hamilton collided with the car of his competitor Max Verstappen, Piquet went “too low” on Hamilton. He also asserted that he was not sure that Hamilton would have survived that car collision, had he hit the wall instead of his rival. “Luck had him survive that tragic collision,” he maintained. All of his comments in the podcast about Hamilton were emphatic, racist, and derogatory.

However, Hamilton did not go silent on the comments of the Brazilian motorsport athlete. He took to Twitter and other social media platforms to express his grievances about the derogatory and racist comments about him. “I do not believe that racism and any sort of bias have any place in our sports,” Hamilton said, hinting at Formula One. “Throughout my career in F1, I have been trying to eliminate racism and biases. I plead diversity, and so should everyone.” Furthermore, the racer emphasized that there is no place for racism in F1 as it is the most diverse game in the world.

Anadulo Agency / Lewis Hamilton is an ambassador of diversity in F1.

It is essential to note here that Lewis Hamilton is a firm supporter of diversity in motorsport to the degree that he is called ‘The Ambassador of Diversity in F1.’ Thus, making racially sensitive comments about Hamilton raises eyebrows, and understandably, no one linked to F1 can remain tight-lipped about it.

Nonetheless, Hamilton was the first to talk about the racially charged Portuguese podcast. Countering the comments of Piquet, Hamilton called it an “archaic mindset.” He stressed that these traditional and archaic mindsets must be eliminated from F1. He wrote on Twitter: “I am sure everybody will agree that this is an archaic perspective. And it has to end now. We are no longer living in an era of racism. Our sports does not allow any bias – and racism is no exception.”

Marca / Hamilton condemns Piquet’s comments saying there is no place for racism and bias in the F1 sport.

After condemning the racist remarks of Piquet, Hamilton calls for action. He emphasizes that the F1 sports have seen numerous occasions of racism and bias. According to him, the organization needs to take strict actions against such incidents.

After Hamilton’s condemnation on Twitter and other social media platforms, F1 also released an official statement wherein the organization supported Hamilton and asserted that Piquet’s remarks were unacceptable to the organization. Likewise, Formula One also appreciated Hamilton’s efforts in eliminating racism. Mercedes (Hamilton’s team) also condemned the remark of Piquet and asserted that F1 has no place for racism.

Nonetheless, Piquet’s response is yet to come. From the public outroar and remarks of F1, it seems apparent that Piquet will regret his misuse of language.