Following remarks made by former world champion Nelson Piquet, Formula 1, the FIA, and the Mercedes F1 Team all condemned racism in the sport this morning. The team, the sport, and its governing body have all rightfully condemned Piquet’s use of racial slurs in a podcast where he was talking about Lewis Hamilton’s showing in the 2017 British Grand Prix.
Piquet reportedly made a racist remark against Hamilton in Portuguese when speaking on a Brazilian podcast in November, according to Sky Sports.
The racial slurs Piquet made have now been condemned by Formula 1 as having “no place in society.”
The FIA, the organization in charge of governing the sport, has since reaffirmed this stance. Mercedes has also issued a statement denouncing “in the harshest terms any use of racist or discriminatory rhetoric of any kind.” Lewis Hamilton is a member of the Mercedes squad.
Hamilton’s team and the Ferrari F1 team have both tweeted their support for the seven-time winner. Red Bull, the current champions, and Piquet’s former Williams squad have not yet responded to the situation.
But to date, none of these rebuttals have mentioned Piquet by name in reaction to his use of a racist epithet. The team, the FIA, or Formula 1 make no indication that their comments were in response to his terrible word choice.
Therefore, the question arises: Is this it? Does Piquet’s possession of three world championships give him the right to use insults without fear of repercussions from the sport itself? To demonstrate that sentiments like this have no place in the paddock, Formula 1 must take the appropriate response.
That is a viewpoint Hamilton himself holds since he expressed his outrage at Piquet’s remarks this morning on Twitter.
It’s also true that Hamilton has always received special treatment in the pit lane compared to other drivers. And despite becoming the statistically greatest F1 driver of all time, several prominent F1 figures still don’t believe he belongs there.
He has received resignation requests from former F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone just in the past week. And three-time champion Jackie Stewart suggested that it might be time for Hamilton to transition into the fashion business.
All of this came after one season’s poor start. Do you know anyone who hasn’t received similar calls to quit following the year’s rocky beginning? Fernando Alonso, who has yet to win a race since making a comeback with Alpine, and four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, who hasn’t had a convincing title challenge in more than five years.
