Nelson Piquet, a three-time world champion, found himself in hot water for using racist language when speaking about Lewis Hamilton.

In an interview conducted last year but released publicly Monday night, Piquet used a racist term. His comments came as he spoke in November to Motorsport Talk’s Ricardo Oliveira in Portuguese about Hamilton’s clash with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen at the British Grand Prix in 2021.

F1, which has a clear anti-racist platform under the We Race As One banner, condemned Piquet.

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“Discriminatory or racist language is unacceptable in any form and has no part in society. Lewis is an incredible ambassador for our sport and deserves respect. His tireless efforts to increase diversity and inclusion are a lesson to many and something we are committed to at F1.”

Hamilton’s Mercedes team also expressed support for their driver.

“We condemn in the strongest terms any use of racist or discriminatory language of any kind. Lewis has spearheaded our sport’s efforts to combat racism, and he is a true champion of diversity on and off track,” their statement read. “Together, we share a vision for a diverse and inclusive motorsport, and this incident underlines the fundamental importance of continuing to strive for a brighter future.”

Piquet, who is now 69, won the world championship in 1981, 1983 and 1987. Since his retirement, he has been ranked among the greatest Formula One drivers in various motorsport polls. He has also had a brief career in tennis before losing interest in the sport. He later took up karting and hid his identity to prevent his father discovering his hobby.

He became the Brazilian national karting champion in 1971–72 and won the Formula Vee championship in 1976.

Piquet went to Europe on Emerson Fittipaldi’s advice where he reached the heights of success. He hit the record number of wins in Formula Three in 1978, beating Jackie Stewart’s all-time record.

The same year, he made his Formula One debut with the Ensign team and drove for McLaren and Brabham.

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In 1979, Piquet moved to the Brabham team and finished the runner-up in 1980 before winning the championship in 1981. He moved to the Williams team in 1986 and was a title contender until the final round in Australia.

Piquet took his third and final championship in 1987 during a heated battle with teammate Nigel Mansell. Piquet subsequently moved to Lotus for 1988–89. He eventually went to the Benetton team for 1990–91 where he managed to win three races before retiring.

Piquet’s first marriage was with Brazilian Maria Clara in 1976 and lasted one year. They have one son, Geraldo Piquet. His second marriage was to Dutchwoman Sylvia Tamsma, with whom he has  three children, Nelson Angelo Piquet, Kelly Piquet and Julia Piquet. Laszlo Piquet was born in 1987, but his mother is Katherine Valentin (Piquet’s girlfriend while he was temporarily separated from Sylvia).

He is currently married to Brazilian Vivianne de Souza Leão and they have two children, Pedro Estacio Piquet and Marco Piquet.