Nelson Piquet sentenced by the Brazilian justice system
The three-time Formula 1 world champion has been fined $950,000 following racist and homophobic remarks made in an interview about Lewis Hamilton.
The events date back to 2021, following the high-speed collision between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone. The Brazilian used racist remarks towards the British driver. Quickly, Nelson Piquet apologized through a statement, declaring that his remarks were ill-conceived.
But then an audio recording resurfaces shortly after. Homophobic comments against the same Lewis Hamilton following his loss of the world title in 2016 against Nico Rosberg. An issue that was picked up by three human rights groups and the Brazilian LGBT+ Alliance, who demanded 10 million reals in moral damages. Ultimately, the former Brazilian driver was sentenced to pay five million reals in moral damages, equivalent to 885,500 euros.
According to Reuters, the judge declared that the fine was given in the sense that we should not only appreciate the reparative function of civil liability, but also the punitive function so that, as a society, we may one day be rid of the pernicious acts of racism and homophobia.
