AFP
“Why do we keep giving space to these old voices?”, asked the British Lewis Hamilton, 37, this Thursday, in reference to the statements of former Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet, 69, three-time Formula 1 champion, who called him a “nigger” in a video.
“We shouldn’t give these people a platform. They talk about our sport and we try to go in a completely different direction, it’s not representative,” Hamilton explained at a press conference ahead of the British Grand Prix this weekend.
After the repercussion of the episode, Piquet apologized “heartily” and stated that the “translation (of the word ‘neguinho’) that circulates in some vehicles and on social media is not correct”. Asked at Silverstone on Thursday, the Mercedes driver asked the media and the Formula 1 world to focus “on what we are today as a sport and the direction we want to go”.
“If we want to develop in the United States and in other countries, in South Africa (where Formula 1 plans to return), increase our audience, we must look to the future and give young people a platform that is more representative of the current era.” continued.
“For some time I have been the target of racism and criticism, negativity in archaic statements. It’s nothing new for me,” lamented Hamilton, stressing that this is a “global problem.” One of the sport’s most engaged figures in the fight against racism, the Briton was “incredibly grateful” to everyone who supported him this week, “especially the pilots”.
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