Helmut Marko, Red Bull F1’s motorsport advisor, has questioned the ‘timing’ of the recent Nelson Piquet scandal.
Just before the Formula 1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Lewis Hamilton’s home race, a video of three-time F1 world champion Nelson Piquet, who referred to Hamilton as the ‘N word’, appeared.
It sparked a firestorm of controversy, including a permanent ban from the F1 paddock and even criminal prosecution.
Helmut Marko, motorsport adviser to Red Bull F1, says it was a big win for Lewis Hamilton and the Mercedes F1 team.
“I don’t want to defend Piquet, but if you translate the Portuguese correctly, what he said isn’t so blatant,” Helmut Marko told Osterreich.
“But we know Piquet. He was always flippant when he was active. The only strange thing is that this interview from last November was only a few days before the Grand Prix in England. It has surfaced.”
Helmut Marko says the Hamilton camp will make a timely turnaround to draw attention from the highly controversial 2021 crash at Silverstone with Max Verstappen, who is dating Nelson Piquet’s daughter Kelly. I doubt you wanted it.
“Apparently they hoped the previous year’s crash wouldn’t boil over again,” accused Helmut Marko.
“This timing is not a coincidence”
Helmut Marko, meanwhile, backed Red Bull Racing F1 team principal Christian Horner’s remarks that this year’s title fight with Ferrari would be much smoother than a head-to-head battle with Mercedes in 2021.
“Everything is always political with Mercedes,” insisted Helmut Marko. He said the current battle with Ferrari was more fun and expressed sympathy for Charles Leclerc, who crashed while leading at Paul Ricard.
“We are on equal terms when it comes to sport,” Helmut Marko said of the Red Bull-Ferrari showdown.
“It’s a shame that Leclerc and Ferrari keep making mistakes in their fight against us.”
