Former Brazilian Formula 1 driver Nelson Piquet was sentenced in court on Friday to pay a fine of five million reais (882 thousand euros) for racist statements made against Briton Lewis Hamilton in 2021.
The three-time world champion (1981, 1983 and 1987) used the word “neguinho” in an interview for the publication Motosports, criticizing the performance of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton in a duel with Dutchman Max Verstappen, friend of his daughter Kelly Piquet, at the 2021 British Grand Prix.
In that race, Hamilton caused an accident in which Verstappen was thrown off the track and crashed into the barrier with extreme violence, subjecting his body to forces of 51 G (51 times normal weight) on impact. LOOK HERE
A court in Brasilia ruled that these “unacceptable” statements constituted a “serious offense against the fundamental values of society” and sentenced 70-year-old Nelson Piquet to pay five million reais for “collective moral damage”, the money will be donated to associations that fight against discrimination.
At the time, Hamilton denounced “archaic attitudes” and the need for “changes in mentality”.
Later, Nelson Piquet apologized “with all his heart”, via a public message: “What I said was wrong and I’m not going to defend myself, but I want to clarify that this term is widely used in Brazilian Portuguese to say ‘cara’ or ‘pessoa’ and it was never my intention to offend.”
This argument did not convince the Brazilian court, which decided so “lack of intention cannot justify discriminatory behavior against minorities”.
Source: DN
