Panel SA: Before being called a neguinho by Piquet, Hamilton already warned about racism in Brazil

British driver Lewis Hamilton, who took to social media this Tuesday (28) to comment on Nelson Piquet’s racist comment, who called him a neguinho, had already warned about the racial issue in Brazil recently.

In 2020, amid the protests triggered by the murder of João Alberto Silveira Freitas, a black man beaten by security guards at Carrefour in Porto Alegre, Hamilton paid tribute to the victim. He said he was devastated by yet another black life lost and that he still had to fight to combat the problem.

Recognized as one of the great protagonists of the anti-racist movement in world sport, Hamilton also participated in the street demonstrations after the death of George Floyd and took to the podium messages such as “black lives matter”.

Also on Tuesday (28), F1 and Mercedes released notes condemning discriminatory or racist language and praised Hamilton’s work for diversity in the sector.

Piquet’s speech appears in a video from last year that was circulated again this weekend in which the former driver, to criticize a passage of the seven-time champion in the British Grand Prix, refers to him as neguinho.

“These archaic mentalities need to change and have no place in our sport,” was the Briton’s reply.

Joana Cunha with Paulo Ricardo Martins and Gilmara Santos