Lewis Hamilton has posted a string of tweets after an interview resurfaced showing former F1 driver Nelson Piquet using a racist slur to describe the Brit.
Piquet made the comments when speaking about Hamilton's win at last year's British Grand Prix, which saw him involved in an incident with Max Verstappen. After the pair's cars made contact on the opening lap, Verstappen crashed out of the race while Hamilton went on to win.
When asked about the incident by Brazilian publication Estadao, Piquet twice used a racist term, which is Brazilian slang for the N-word, when referring to Hamilton. And the seven-time world champion has now addressed Piquet's comments on Twitter.
First, Hamilton simply wrote "Imagine" while responding to a fan who had tweeted: "What if Lewis Hamilton just tweeted 'Who the f*** is Nelson Piquet?' then closed twitter".
Hamilton then posted a message in Portuguese which translates to "Let's focus on changing the mindset". He continued: "It's more than language. These archaic mindsets need to change and have no place in our sport.
"I've been surrounded by these attitudes and targeted my whole life. There has been plenty of time to learn. Time has come for action."
Formula 1 have condemned Piquet's comments, releasing a statement that read: "Discriminatory or racist language is unacceptable in any form and has no part in society. 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." Hamilton's team, Mercedes, also released a statement, saying: "We condemn in the strongest terms any use of racist or discriminatory language of any kind.
"Lewis 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 importance of continuing to strive for a brighter future."
