Red Bull boss Helmut Marko has claimed Lewis Hamilton’s team purposefully dug up apparent racist remarks from Nelson Piquet ahead of the British Grand Prix. Marko said Piquet’s remarks were not blatant and was simply another one of the Brazilian’s “ill-considered statements”.
The three-time world champion described Hamilton as a “neguinho” during the clip which sent shockwaves through the sport. The Red Bull chief appeared to question the strange timing of the interview surfacing before Hamilton’s home race.
However, the clip was recorded from a Brazilian TV interview back in November before the end of last season. The video referenced Hamilton’s crash with Max Verstappen at the 2021 race at Silverstone.
But, Marko believes the reason it was redistributed on social media could have an ulterior motive. He commented: “I don’t want to defend Piquet, but if you translate the Portuguese correctly, what he said isn’t nearly as blatant.
“But we know Piquet: even when he was active, he kept making ill-considered statements. The only odd thing is that this interview from last November surfaced a few days before the [British] GP. Apparently, they wanted the previous year’s crash not to be boiled up again.
This timing is no coincidence.” Piquet’s words were condemned by F1 and the Brazilian has been banned from the paddock for the time being.
The British and Racing Drivers Club (BRDC) also banned him from Silverstone ahead of the British Grand Prix. Piquet later apologised for his remarks, claiming his phrase was not meant to cause distress.
However, he has since hit back at the reaction to his words, stressing he was not a racist.
