Hamilton responds to Piquet’s racist comments about him
Nelson Piquet made racist comments towards Lewis Hamilton last November. As these comments resurfaced a few hours ago, the world of F1 has shown its support for the seven-time world champion, who has also reacted on his Twitter account.

In November last year, Nelson Piquet, a triple Formula 1 world champion in the 1980s, made racist remarks towards Lewis Hamilton. During an analysis of the title fight between Max Verstappen and the Briton, the Brazilian referred to the seven-time world champion as “neguinho,” a term with negative and discriminatory connotations.
A controversy has erupted in the past few hours, and the entire Formula 1 world is reacting on social media.
The reaction of the authorities
The F1 itself first released a statement, without explicitly naming Nelson Piquet. Discriminatory or racist language is unacceptable in any form and has no place in society. Lewis is an incredible ambassador for our sport and deserves respect. His tireless efforts to increase diversity and inclusion are a lesson for many and a commitment to F1.
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 28, 2022
The FIA has also issued a statement condemning this discriminatory act by the former Brazilian driver. The FIA strongly condemns any racist or discriminatory language and behavior, which have no place in sport or in society as a whole. We express our solidarity with Lewis Hamilton and fully support his commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusivity in motor racing.
The FIA strongly condemns any racist or discriminatory language and behaviour, which have no place in sport or wider society. We express our solidarity with @LewisHamilton and fully support his commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion in motor sport.
— FIA (@fia) June 28, 2022
The teams and Lewis Hamilton also reacted.
Many teams have also shown their support for the seven-time world champion, like Ferrari, Aston Martin, and of course, his own team, Mercedes.
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) June 28, 2022
Lewis Hamilton then spoke out on his own Twitter account. It’s more than just language. These archaic mentalities need to change and have no place in our sport. I have been surrounded by these attitudes and targeted my whole life. There has been plenty of time to learn. The time to act is now.
Let’s focus on the mindset change, adds Hamilton in a second tweet, in Portuguese, the language in which Piquet made the discriminatory remarks.
It’s more than language. These archaic mindsets need to change and have no place in our sport. I’ve been surrounded by these attitudes and targeted my whole life. There has been plenty of time to learn. Time has come for action.
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) June 28, 2022
Vamos focar em mudar a mentalidade
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) June 28, 2022