Nelson Piquet daughter Kelly likes post defending dad after slur made at Lewis Hamilton
The 69-year-old Brazilian, w🤡ho won the F1 world title in 1981, 1983, and 1987, used a racially offensive term to refer to Hamilton when discussing the controversial collision between the Mercedes driver and Verstappen at the 2021 British Grand Prix during a podcast last Novembꦑer.
Audio from the podcast resurfaced ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix. Althoug⭕h he has not been named dire꧙ctly in any of the statements, Piquet has been condemned by F1, the FIA and Mercedes.
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Rodrigo Piquet, a relative of Nelson, has defended 𓆏the triple world champion on social media, writing on Instagram: “Inacinha, our s🗹econd grandmother and the mother of my father and the soul and heart of my uncle.
“She called all of us that [neguinho]. It’s not like that, bu🎶t it’s about lov🐭e.
“Hypocritical world.”
Rodrigo’s account was made private shortly after sharing his ✨post, which was liked by Nelson’s daughter Kelly.
F1 chiefs are considering ﷽banning t♌he three-time world champion from the F1 paddock.
“Discriminatory or racist language is unacceptableꦛ and has no part in society,” an F1 statement read.
“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 at F1.”
How did Hamilton respond?
Seven-time world champion Hamilton issued a response to Piquet’s comments on Twitter.🌄
"It's more than language," Hamilton wrote.
"These archaic mindsets need to change and have no place in our sport. I've been surrounded by tꦑhese attitu👍des and targeted my whole life.
"There has been plenty of time to learn. Time has come ওfor action.”
Mercedes backed their driver in a separate statement which read: "We condemn in the strongest terms any use of racist or discriminatory language of any kind," said Mercedes. "♓Lew🍸is has spearheaded our sport's efforts to combat racism, and he is a true champion of diversity on and off track.
"Together, 🍸we share a vision for a diverse and inclusive motorsport, and this incident underlines the fundamental i✤mportance of continuing to strive for a brighter future.”
Ferrari also condemned Piquet, while fellow drivers including Mercedes teammate George Russell, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo also sent messages of support to Hami🦄lt🐬on.
"Knowing Lewi🍸s since I arrived in Formula 1, he has always been kind and respectful to me and everyone that he meets,” said Leclerc. “Those values should be the standard towards anybody around the world.
"The comments made towards Lewis should not be tolerated, and we should continue to push for a more diverse and inclusive sport. We need to🗹 remove discriminatory behaviour and racist language in any form☂ from not just our sport, but our society as well.”
The topic is likely to be a major talking point when the drivers face the media on Thursday at Silvers🔯tone.
Lewis regularly att𒁃ends Grands Prix for mahbx.com around the world. Often reporting on the action from the ground, Lewis tel꧑ls the stories of the people who matter in the sport.
