Nelson Piquet's racially abusive remark of seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has reportedly earned the Brazilian a ban from the paddock.
It's understood the former Brabham and Williams driver will no longer be welcome on F1 weekends after he referred to Hamilton using a racial slur that translates roughly to mean "n****r." Piquet issued an apology for his remarks earlier on Wednesday, but it appears that may not be sufficient to preserve his place in the sport.
"Sources in F1 have told BBC Sport that Nelson Piquet will not be allowed back into the paddock following this controversy," tweeted Andrew Benson on Wednesday. ESPN backed up reports suggesting Piquet had been banned from the paddock as punishment for his comments.
An audio clip from November 2021 emerged on Tuesday, whereby Piquet could be heard using the racial slur "neguinho" to refer to Hamilton. The 69-year-old was discussing the Mercedes star's 2021 British Grand Prix, during which he collided with Red Bull 's Max Verstappen, who is in a relationship with Piquet's daughter, Kelly.
"The n******* put the car in the wrong way and didn't let [the other driver swerve]," he said in Portuguese. "The n******* put the car in the wrong way on the corner, it's because you don’t know the curve.
"It's a very high curve, there is no way to pass two cars and there's no way you can put the car aside. He did [Verstappen] dirty. His luck was that only the other one was gone."
In his apology, three-time world champion Piquet insisted the term he used has a different meaning in his native Portuguese. He hailed Hamilton as an "incredible driver" and 'strongly condemned' the suggestion he would use the colour of another driver's skin as a means of belittling them.
Hamilton—the only black driver currently in F1— issued his own response after Piquet's comments came to light, urging the "time has come for action." He criticised the "archaic mindsets" possessed by some, adding they have "no place in our sport."
Sunday's British Grand Prix at Silverstone could be the first race Piquet is barred from attending. Record-holder Hamilton sits sixth in the standings and is still targeting his first win of 2022, having won seven of the eight British Grands Prix contested since 2014.
