Nelson Piquet is being investigated by Brazilian prosecutors after footage emerged of him wishing death upon the country's new president.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took a narrow victory in the presidential election last weekend over Jair Bolsonaro. But the incumbent did not take the result well and for several days refused to concede to his opponent.
Bolsonaro's supporters took to the streets across the country, setting up roadblocks and burning tyres in protest. Disgraced Formula 1 champion Piquet is one of those who joined other demonstrating in public, and it was while doing so that he was filmed by a fan.
"We're going to get Lula, son of a b****, out of here," Piquet was heard telling the fan, who replied: "That's it! Brazil above everything, God above everything." The 70-year-old former racer then added: "it is Lula there in the cemetery, son of a b****."
The three-time F1 champion is now being probed by the federal prosecutor's office of Brasilia, accuse of inciting violence. Both the former racer and the fan will be expected to testify to federal police. Mirror Sport has contacted Piquet's representative for comment.
"Nelson Piquet is a person of public notoriety and, because of that, he should know his statements have the potential of reaching hundreds of thousands of people," a statement from the prosecutor's office read.
Piquet, whose world titles came in the 1980s with Brabham and Williams, has already been banned by Formula 1 after footage surfaced earlier this year in which he used a racial slur to refer to Lewis Hamilton. A second clip later showed him using further racist and homophobic slurs in reference to the Brit.
Piquet issued a public apology for his comments, but insisted there was no racist intent behind his language. "I would never use the word I have been accused of in some translations. I strongly condemn any suggestion that the word was used by me with the aim of belittling a driver because of his skin colour," he said.
"I apologise wholeheartedly to anyone that was affected, including Lewis, who is an incredible driver. But the translation in some media that is now circulating on social media is not correct. Discrimination has no place in F1 or society and I am happy to clarify my thoughts in that respect."
