Nelson Piquet has been banned from Silverstone after being accused of using racially abusing Lewis Hamilton.
The British Racing Drivers Club, which owns and operates the British Grand Prix circuit, has moved swiftly to suspend Piquet, who is an honorary member of the exclusive club. And it will formally kick him out at a board meeting in a week's time.
As the Formula 1 roadshow arrived at the Northamptonshire track, the BRDC announced the three-time Brazilian world champion would no longer be welcome in motor racing on these shores. In a statement, the BRDC said: “The BRDC Board of Directors has noted that, in a Brazilian podcast last November, Nelson Piquet Senior, an Honorary Member of the BRDC, described Lewis Hamilton using a racially offensive expression in Portuguese. The apology issued yesterday by Mr Piquet Snr has also been noted.
