Nelson Piquet, a three-time Formula One champion, has been ordered to pay $950,000 in «non-material damages» for racist and homophobic comments he made about Lewis Hamilton in 2021.
Piquet, who is from Brazil, referred to Hamilton as «neguinho,» a racially offensive term meaning «little black man,» according to the Associated Press. He was also seen in a video posted at a Grand Prix last year using homophobic language to say Hamilton was not focused on challenging Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg for the 2016 title.
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Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the #44 Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W14, on track during the Saudi Arabian F1 Grand Prix at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on March 19, 2023 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Lars Baron/Getty Images)
The Brasilia court ordered Piquet on Friday to pay 5 million Brazilian reais «in collective non-pecuniary damages that will go towards the promotion of racial equality and against discrimination of the LGBTQIA+ community.» The judge said Piquet’s comments corresponded to the definition of racial discrimination outlined in Brazil’s 2010 Racial Equality Statute.
Several human rights groups filed charges in Brazil against Piquet for his comments.
The 70-year-old was talking about an accident between Hamilton and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen that took place at the British Grand Prix in 2021. His daughter Kelly Piquet is Verstappen’s girlfriend.
Three-time Formula One world champion Nelson Piquet of Brazil attends the filming of Hungarian TV’s Formula One magazine in Budapest, Hungary on July 23, 2015. (Janos Marjai/MTI via AP, File)
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Piquet later apologized for the «ill-thought-out» racial term, but said that «it is one that has historically been used colloquially in Brazilian Portuguese as a synonym for ‘guy’ or ‘person’ and was never intended to offend».
A Brazilian judge said Piquet’s comments implied that if Hamilton had not been gay «he would have won the championship…Therefore, being gay would be a negative characteristic.»
Piquet could appeal the ruling.
Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes looks on before the Saudi Arabian F1 Grand Prix at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on March 19, 2023 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Dan Istitene – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
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Hamilton is a seven-time F1 champion. He hasn’t won a race since the 2021 season.
Associated Press contributed to this report.