Lewis Hamilton and F1 condemn Nelson Piquet over 'racist language'

Formula One officials have condemned former world champion Nelson Piquet after he used a racial slur against current driver Lewis Hamilton.

Piquet had referenced the colour of Hamilton’s skin with a discriminatory term while speaking on a podcast in November.

Hamilton -- a seven-time F1 champion -- said on Twitter that the words were "more than language".

"These archaic mindsets need to change and have no place in our sport," he wrote on Tuesday.

"I've been surrounded by these attitudes and targeted my whole life. There has been plenty of time to learn. Time has come for action."

Hamilton also tweeted in Portuguese, “Vamos focar em mudar a mentalidade” ("Let’s focus on changing the mindset").

His comments on Twitter came after both F1 and the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) had condemned "racist language".

“Discriminatory or racist language is unacceptable in any form and has no part in society," F1 said in a statement.

"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."

Motorsport's governing body also expressed "solidarity" with Hamilton on Twitter, adding that it "fully supports his commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion in motorsport."

Hamilton -- the only Black driver in F1 -- has campaigned against racism in motorsport and has been outspoken on human rights abuses.

Hamilton and most drivers took a knee before races in 2020 and 2021 as an anti-racism gesture.

The racially abusive comments by Piquet had been made on the 'Enerto' podcast on YouTube.

The former three-time Brazilian world champion had been referring to a crash between Hamilton and Max Verstappen during