Piquet condemned for his racist comments towards Hamilton

The three-time champion of Formula 1 Nelson Piquet was found guilty of racist and homophobic remarks against Lewis Hamilton, decided a Brazilian court this Friday. The Brazilian must pay 5 million real Brazilians (around 884 euros) in moral damages. 

In an interview in November 2021, Nelson Piquet used a racist insult in reference to the seven-time world champion, commenting on Lewis Hamilton's accident with Max Verstappen during the 2021 British Grand Prix. Images of the interview resurfaced in June 2022, which caused the Briton and the entire Formula 1 community to react. Lewis Hamilton had called for action to change the “archaic mentalities” in discipline.

In another video clip that later surfaced, Nelson Piquet used racist and homophobic language against the English driver in a podcast interview, describing how Lewis Hamilton missed the 2016 championship in favor of Nico Rosberg. Nelson Piquet, 70, later apologized to the British driver and said his comments had been poorly translated. 

The lawsuits were brought by four human rights groups, including the National LGBT+ Alliance of Brazil, who demanded Nelson Piquet pay 10 million real Brazilians for alleged moral damage.

In his ruling, Judge Pedro Matos de Arrudo said the amount of compensation had been fixed “in the sense that it is appropriate to appreciate not only the restorative function of civil liability, but also the punitive function so that, as a society, we can one day be free from the pernicious acts of racism and homophobia ».

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