A new video has emerged which appears to show disgraced former Formula 1 champion Nelson Piquet appearing to target Lewis Hamilton with a slur for a second time.
The Brazilian has been condemned by the F1 world this week after footage from last year resurfaced, showing him referring to the Mercedes star by using a slang variation of the n-word in Portuguese. Piquet claimed there was no racial intent, but he is still expected to be banned from the sport by the FIA.
That ban seems only more likely now, after fresh footage in which the three-time world champion appears to use a homophobic slur, while also targeting Nico Rosberg and father Keke as well as the Brit. "Keke? He was a s***! Zero value," Piquet says, before adding: "His son [Nico] won the championship. The 'n*******' was [more focused on] giving a** at that time. He was kinda bad."
The new footage is likely to anger Hamilton further, in the wake of his impassioned response to being targeted by Piquet's initial racial slur. "In the last couple of weeks, I don't think a day has gone by when someone who has not been relevant in our sport for decades has not been saying negative things and trying to bring me down," he told reporters at Silverstone.
"But I am still here and still standing strong. I'm focused on my work and pushing for diversity and inclusion in our sport. It's time for actual real action. Formula 1, the media, we should not be giving these people a platform. I've always tried to be respectful to these individuals but why did we give these guys a platform? They are not with the time, they are not willing to change.
"These micro-aggressions and racial undertones are just creating more divides. I love when Michelle Obama says when they go low, we go high so I try to do that. I'm still here and it’s not going to deter me from doing what is right and doing what I love, which is working in this sport."
And Max Verstappen, whose girlfriend Kelly is Piquet's daughter, leapt to the defence of the Brazilian by claiming he is a "nice guy" and "not a racist", though he did admit that he had been wrong to use the slur. "I've spent a bit of time with Nelson – more than the average person in general – and he's definitely not a racist," said the Dutchman.
"He's actually a really nice and relaxed guy. The wording which was used – even though there are different kinds of cultures and it's probably something they said when they were younger – was not correct. He knows that himself. I don't think he needs me to tell him what is right and what isn't.
"Let it be a lesson for the future not to use that word because it's very offensive. It can be interpreted in two ways and people pick up on the bad side and of course it gets really blown out of proportion. People label him as a racist now which I don't think he is, but I fully agree of course you cannot use these words."
