Nelson Piquet says racial slur aimed at Lewis Hamilton had no racist intent

By Matias Grez, CNN

Updated 1421 GMT (2221 HKT) June 29, 2022

Former F1 driver Nelson Piquet has apologized for using a racial slur aimed at Lewis Hamilton.

(CNN)Former F1 driver Nelson Piquet has apologized for his racial slur aimed at Lewis Hamilton and said his comments had no racist intent.

Piquet used a Brazilian Portuguese racial slur to describe seven-time champion Hamilton when addressing a high-speed collision involving Hamilton and Max Verstappen during the Silverstone Grand Prix last year.Verstappen is dating Piquet's daughter, Kelly.The racist term was used by the three-time F1 world champion in November of last year, but only came to light recently, when the interview was released Monday.«I would like to clear up the stories circulating in the media about a comment I made in an interview last year,» Piquet said in a statement sent to CNN.Read More«What I said was ill-thought-out, and I make no defence for it, but I will clarify that the term used is one that has widely and historically been used colloquially in Brazilian Portuguese as a synonym for 'guy' or 'person' and was never intended to offend. »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.READ: 'Time has come for action' — Teams rally around Hamilton after Piquet levels racist slur against F1 driverLewis Hamilton, pictured here with his mother after being appointed as a Knight Bachelor (Knighthood) for services to motorsport, was called a racial slur by Piquet.«I apologize wholeheartedly to anyone that was affected, including Lewis, who is an incredible driver, but the translation in some media that is