Nelson Piquet, a former Brazilian driver, went public to defend himself against criticism after commenting on Lewis Hamilton, in which he nicknamed
from ‘neguinho’ the Formula 1 driver.
«What I said was poorly thought out, and I do not defend it, but I will clarify that the term used is one that has been widely and historically used colloquially in Brazilian Portuguese as a synonym for ‘cara’ or ‘person’ and was never intended to offend”, began by saying the former pilot in an official note.
Nelson Piquet went on to say: “I would never use the word I was accused of in some translations. I strongly condemn any suggestion that the word was used by me with the aim of belittling a pilot because of his skin color.”
The Brazilian left an apology: «My heartfelt apologies to all who were affected, including Lewis, who is an incredible driver, but the translation in some ‘media’ that is now circulating on social media is not correct. Discrimination has no place in F1 or society and I am happy to clarify my thoughts in this regard.”
Remember that, last Tuesday, Lewis Hamilton responded on the social network Twitter to a statement by Piquet in excerpts of an interview that were released on Monday, in which he called the seven-time British champion a ‘neguinho’.
«Let’s focus on changing the mentality», wrote the pilot in Portuguese on his Twitter account.
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