Former Formula 1 champion Nelson Piquet has been officially disciplined for his insensitive remarks about Lewis Hamilton.
Piquet referred to Hamilton as “neguinho,” a racially offensive term that translates to “little Black guy.” He made this comment in 2021.
In another interview, Piquet used racist and homophobic language.
On Friday, Piquet was ordered to pay roughly $950,000 in “collective moral damages, to be allocated to funds for the promotion of racial equality and against discrimination of the LGBTQIA+ community.”
The charges against Piquet were filed by several human rights groups.
Last year, Piquet was banned indefinitely from visiting the F1 paddock because of his remarks about Hamilton.
At that time, Piquet said his comments about Hamilton weren’t meant to be racist.
“What I said was ill thought out, and I make no defense for it, but I will clarify that the term used is one that has widely and historically been used in Brazilian Portuguese for a synonym for ‘guy’ or ‘person’ and was never intended to offend,” Piquet said, via ESPN. “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 color. I apologize 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.”
Piquet could appeal this week’s ruling. It’s unclear if he will though.