Formula One world champion Max Verstappen has broken his silence to insist that Nelson Piquet is not a racist, although he condemned the language used by the three-time world champion about fellow driver Lewis Hamilton. Piquet, the father of Verstappen's girlfriend Kelly Piquet, used a racial slur about Hamilton in an interview last year, but the contents have only surfaced this week and risk overshadowing the run-up to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone this weekend.
Piquet's comments have led to widespread condemnation from the F1 community and beyond and have resulted in a ban for the former driver from the paddock. He issued a statement apologising to Hamilton, but denied there was any racial intent behind the word he used and disputed the translation from his native Portuguese into English.
Speaking at Silverstone in advance of the weekend, Red Bull driver Verstappen said he thought Piquet's ban from the paddock was a mistake. "When you ban people, you are actually not even helping the situation, you are not talking," Verstappen said.
