Race Driver Lewis Hamilton Called N-Word By Former Formula 1 Champ Nelson Piquet

Lewis Hamilton, Nelson Piquet

Race Driver Lewis Hamilton Called N-Word By Former Formula 1 Champ Nelson Piquet

Professional racer Lewis Hilton is addressing the racism he faces in the sport of race car driving.

The 37-year-old Formula 1 super star took to his twitter recently, shining light on the racist mindsets of certain individuals in the sport. Reportedly, the tweet came after former Formula 1 champion Nelson Piquet, 69, called him the N-word in a resurfaced video. Following the footage going viral, media outlets, Formula 1, as well as Lewis Hamilton himself, condemned the racially charged statements.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAksXHym_40

Speaking on the incident, the seven time Formula 1 champion wrote in Portuguese:

“Vamos focar em mudar a mentalidade”

Lewis Hamilton

Which is translates to “let’s focus on changing the mindset”. Following up, the British Grenadian uged his 7.4 million followers to see the bigger picture behind Nelson’s words. He wrote:

“It’s more than language. 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.”

Reportedly, Nelson, whose last Formula 1 win was in 1987, called Lewis the racial slur during a 2021 interview in his home country of Brazil. Nelson reportedly criticized Lewis for his role in the 2021 British Grand Prix collision which caused his competitor, Max Verstappen– who is dating Nelson’s daughter, to crash hard. As previously reported, fans rallied behind Lewis champ that year, after controversial rulings made by Formula 1 officials lost him the championship title to Max Verstappen.

Nelson has not publicly commented on his controversial statements. International race series Formula 1, however, did issue a statement on the matter. In support of their most winning athlete, the statement read:

“Discriminatory or racist language is unacceptable in any form and has no part in society,” Formula 1 said. “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.”

The Mercedes race team that sponsors Lewis also issued a statement, writing:

“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.”

Lewis has been very vocal throughout his career about the issue of racism. The athlete regularly speaks about his personal racial encounters and faced backlash and a FIA investigation after wearing a t-shirt in support of Breaonna Taylor. We continue to wish Lewis success in his fight for equality in the world of professional racing.

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Do you agree with Lewis Hamilton’s stance? Tell us in the comments!