Nelson Piquet fined £780,000 for racist and homophobic comments about Lewis Hamilton
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Updated 25/03/2023 at 10:11 GMT
Judge Pedro Matos de Arrudo delivered the verdict and ordered Brazil's triple world champion Nelson Piquet to pay the fee for moral damages against Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time world champion spoke out against the comments in June last year and stressed the need to change “archaic mindsets” in the battle with racism and homophobia.
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Nelson Piquet has been ordered to pay 5 million Brazilian Reals (£780,000) in moral damages for racist and homophobic comments made against Lewis Hamilton.
The charges relate to the triple formula one champion’s remarks in November 2021, when Piquet made a racial slur as he spoke about Hamilton’s crash with Max Verstappen at the British Grand Prix.
Hamilton stressed the need to change “archaic mindsets” when footage of the interview was circulated online last June.
Piquet issued an apology to Hamilton and said the comments had been mistranslated, but this was not the only controversial interview where the Brazilian made a derogatory reference to the seven-time world champion.
Another clip surfaced where Piquet used racist and homophobic language against Hamilton after the Brit lost out to Nico Rosberg in the 2016 championship.
Judge Pedro Matos de Arrudo delivered the verdict after charges against Piquet were brought by four human rights groups, which included Brazil's National LGBT+ Alliance, who demanded that Piquet pay 10 million Brazilian Reals in moral damages.
Hamilton is enduring a tough time on the track, with Totto Wolff admitting that 38-year-old could look for another team if Mercedes cannot find him a quick enough car.
This has led to speculation regarding a sensational switch to Red Bull, but Christian Horner was quick to refute those suggestions.
"What Lewis has achieved in F1 is second to none," said Horner in an interview with Sky Sports. "But we're very happy with the drivers that we have.
"They're committed as a pair not only this season but the next season as well.
"I'm sure they [Hamilton and Mercedes] are going to sort their issues out - we're certainly not writing him off yet.
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"We're hearing about big Mercedes upgrades, I'm sure Ferrari aren't happy with their current position as well.
"So we're fully expecting things to converge quickly."
Red Bull have been victorious in both of the opening races so far, as Verstappen won in Bahrain and team-mate Sergio Perez emerged triumphant in Saudi Arabia.
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