Former Formula 1 driver Nelson Piquet faces a possible fine of 1.8 million euros for calling “black” lewis hamilton. The facts date back to November 2021, when piquetfather-in-law of max verstappenHe referred twice to hamilton as “neguinho” to criticize his driving in the British Grand Prix. At that time, Hamilton and Verstappen They fought tooth and nail for the world title that the Dutchman ended up taking.
After hearing those words, several Brazilian civil rights groups, including the Educafro association and Aliança Nacional LGBTI+, denounced the piquet accusing him of racism for his comments on hamilton. These groups request compensation of 10 million reais (1.8 million euros).
The complaint was filed last summer and the Brazilian prosecutor’s office has just ruled in favor of the sentence. In fact, the Federal Public Ministry has transferred it to the Civil Court No. 20 of Brasilia that piquet “violated the rights of the victim and of the black and LGBTQIA+ population, considering both international and national laws.”
When that controversy broke out, hamilton condemned the words of piquet and stressed that they were “something more than a way of speaking.” “These archaic mentalities must change and they have no place in our sport. I have been surrounded by these attitudes my entire life and there has been plenty of time to learn. The time has come to act,” claimed the English pilot. Now, the Brazilian justice could agree with him.
