Source: Williams Racing Twitter
1996 Formula 1 champion Damon Hill was very blunt in his assessment of Nelson Piquet and his racist words, and said he was “not sure what sort of apology would be sufficient”.
After audio of three-time Formula 1 champion Nelson Piquet using a racial slur when referring to Lewis Hamiton came to light, the whole Formula 1 world went into an uproar.
Damon Hill was very blunt in his assessment of the Brazilian and the whole situation.
“I’ve always felt Nelson was a bit of an acquired taste, and I didn’t really acquire the taste,” the Briton said on Sky Sports F1.
“This is beyond the pale now. Even allowing for possible misunderstandings in the difference in languages between the Brazilian term and here, certainly it’s something that demands an apology.
“But I’m not sure what sort of apology would be sufficient. It’s very sad, really.
“Poor Lewis for having to put up with this constantly. It’s blighted his experience of being a Formula 1 driver, perhaps more than we’ll ever understand.”
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Asked what would be the proper action F1 and the FIA should take, Hill compared it to Red Bull’s swift decision to terminate their reserve driver Juri Vips’ contract, due to his use of a racial slur.
“This was a case of there being verifiable evidence that something was said and done,” Hill said, referring to Piquet’s comment.
“You’ve got Juri Vips as well – swift action has been taken against Juri. We have to be sure that the sport is not just nodding in the direction of political correctness. It has to be absolutely clear.
“For a long time, I’ve wished that the sport upheld and made it abundantly clear that it upholds certain values. But the argument against that was they couldn’t be political. That’s what their response was, it was we’re not a political organisation, we can’t.
“But this is not politics. This is decent human values. And surely a sport should be about those things,” Hill concluded.
