Three-time Formula 1 world champion Nelson Piquet has to pay five million Brazilian real (879,000 euros) as moral damages for racist and homophobic statements once morest Lewis Hamilton. That was decided by a Brazilian court. In an interview in November 2021, Piquet had uttered a racial slur towards the Mercedes driver when commenting on Hamilton’s collision at the British GP with Red Bull competitor Max Verstappen.
Hamilton called for “archaic ways of thinking” in response following footage of the interview surfaced on social media last June. Piquet, whose daughter Kelly is Verstappen’s partner, then apologized to Hamilton. The 70-year-old said his comments had been mistranslated.
In another video that later surfaced, Piquet made racist and homophobic comments regarding Hamilton in a podcast interview, describing how the Brit missed out on the 2016 world title once morest Nico Rosberg. The charges were brought by four human rights groups, including Brazil’s LGBT+ Alliance. This demanded compensation of ten million Brazilian reals from Piquet for alleged moral damage. Hamilton was awarded honorary citizenship in Brazil last June.
