Lewis Hamilton thanks fans for their support in Nelson Piquet controversy

Sir Lewis Hamilton has thanked his fans for their support in the wake of the racial abuse incidents that have rocked Formula 1 this past week.

In the build-up to this weekend’s British Grand Prix, a video of former world champion Nelson Piquet using a racial slur when discussing Hamilton emerged, and Red Bull terminated the contract of their junior driver Juri Vips after the F2 racer used the same slur on a Twitch live stream.

Vips and especially Piquet have been widely condemned for their comments and there has been a great deal of support for Hamilton from F1, the FIA and fellow drivers and teams.

On Thursday the seven-time world champion arrived at Silverstone and addressed a large crowd of fans during Sky Sports’ live F1 Show to thank them for their continued support.

‘This sport wouldn’t be the same without this,’ Hamilton said, gesturing to the fans.

‘The energy these guys bring every year but also when we’re travelling around the world. I’m sure there are people here that have travelled to many different races and continue to raise the Union Jack and show their support.

‘I wouldn’t be here without them. I’m so grateful for the love and support and my heart is racing, it’s crazy.

‘We’ve done this journey for so long, 16 years and my heart’s still pumping at a crazy rate just seeing you all. I love you guys.’

Earlier in a press conference, Hamilton had spoken at length about preventing ‘archaic mindsets’ from plaguing the sport, referring not only to Piquet but also former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone and former world champion Jackie Stewart.

Ecclestone claimed he would ‘take a bullet’ for Russian President Vladimir Putin in spite of the invasion of Ukraine, while Jackie Stewart who has been a harsh and outspoken critic of