The British Racing Driver's Club confirmed on Thursday that Nelson Piquet is suspended from membership and will eventually be expelled. Hamilton is also a member
The British Racing Driver's Club (BRDC) announced the suspension and imminent expulsion of Nelson Piquet from its membership on Thursday (30). The former Brazilian driver, an honorary member of the club, will see his membership terminated after serving a seven-day notice period.
"The BRDC Board of Directors has noted that in a Brazilian podcast last November, BRDC honorary member Nelson Piquet Sr. described Lewis Hamilton using a racially offensive expression in Portuguese. The apology issued yesterday by Piquet Sr. was also noted," the club said in an official statement.
"In view of the BRDC's zero tolerance policy towards any act involving or suggesting racism, the BRDC Board has concluded that the use of racially offensive language by Piquet Sr. park. to describe his fellow BRDC member (and seven-time world champion) is unacceptable and represents conduct that is completely inappropriate for an honorary member of the club, despite his subsequent apology," the note continued. "Accordingly, we inform Piquet Sr. that his membership has been suspended with immediate effect. Following due process by the club, it is anticipated that the Board will terminate Piquet Sr.'s membership at a Board meeting to be held after the 7-day notice period," the British Drivers' Club added.
The racist comment by Piquet occurred last year, when the three-time champion was commenting on the crash between the Mercedes driver and Max Verstappen at the Formula 1 British Grand Prix. In the video, which gained repercussion in the international press, journalist Ricardo Oliveira questioned Piquet about a similar maneuver by Ayrton Senna in the past, and the three-time champion disagreed.
"The 'neguinho' put the car in and didn't let [Verstappen] pass. [...] The 'neguinho' left the car, because there was no way to pass two cars in that corner. [...] The 'neguinho' did it as a joke," said Piquet in the interview on November 3, 2021.
The video resurfaced on social networks last week and went viral in Brazil. But it didn't take long for the first splashes to fall outside the country, until it reached foreign journalists and exploded for good.
As soon as Piquet's speech became public knowledge, Formula 1 issued a note of repudiation, even without naming the three-time champion. "Discriminatory or racist language is unacceptable in any form and is not part of society. Lewis is an incredible ambassador for our sport and deserves respect. His tireless efforts to increase diversity and inclusion are a lesson to many and something we are committed to in F1," the note from the category highlighted.
Mercedes also officially commented on the language used by Piquet. "We condemn in the strongest terms any use of racist or discriminatory language of any kind. Lewis has led our sport's efforts to combat racism and he is a true champion of diversity on and off the track. Together, we share a vision of diverse and inclusive motorsport, and this incident highlights the fundamental importance of continuing to strive for a better future," the team said.
The FIA also repudiated the event, saying in an official statement on its Twitter account that it "strongly condemns any racist or discriminatory language and behavior, which has no place in sport or society in general. We express our solidarity with Lewis Hamilton and fully support his commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion in motor sport," it said.
Hamilton, likewise, has not been silent. The seven-time world champion took to social media to respond to the repercussions. First, Hamilton posted on his Twitter account a message in Portuguese. "Let's focus on changing the mentality," wrote the seven-time world champion. Shortly after, the Mercedes driver tweeted back in English and called for forceful anti-racist actions.
"It's more than language. These archaic mentalities need to change and have no place in our sport. I have been surrounded by these attitudes and have been a target for my whole life. There was plenty of time to learn. The time for action is now," Hamilton emphasized.
In a statement to the international press the day after the repercussion of the episode, Piquet apologized to Hamilton, but claimed "incorrect translation" of the racist term - used more than once, it is worth remembering. The former driver said he had no intention of offending and stressed that some of the translations circulating on the Internet do not accurately portray the word he used. The Brazilian condemned racism, but claimed that the expression "neguinho" is "widely and historically" used in colloquial Portuguese.