Brazilian Nelson Piquet, three-time world champion formula 1He was ordered by a court in his country to pay five million reais (one million dollars) for a comment. racist and homophobic towards the British pilot Lewis Hamilton. The 20th Civil Court of Brasilia awarded this compensation. “collective moral damages” For “crimes committed” by Piquet seven-time F1 world championThe court noted in a note.

“The crimes committed by the defendant affect not only the individual rights of the victim, but also the values ​​of the entire society, particularly the black population and the LGBTQIA+ community,” said Judge Pedro Matos de Arruda, author of the judgment. The judge, in the decision that can be appealed, He ordered that the money be allocated to “funds for the promotion of racial equality”. discrimination of the LGBTQIA+ community.”

The process began on the basis of a lawsuit filed by several human rights associations that allegedly violated the basic collective dignity of the black population and the LGBTQIA+ community, which Piquet gave in an interview on a YouTube channel in November 2021.

During this interview, Piquet called Hamilton “neguinho” (little black man) and referred to him in a homophobic manner. “Keke (Rosberg)? He was a piece of shit. He was worthless. Like his son (Nico Rosberg). He won a championship. Little black (for Hamilton) should have given more ass back then and he was half bad,” Piquet said.

The statements sparked a strong wave of controversy and condemnation throughout Formula 1. which forced Piquet to apologize publicly soon after. However, the judge ruled that Piquet’s remarks were “discriminatory” and punishable.

“Whenever the accused mentioned the British driver, he always used the word ‘neguinho’ to criticize him, associating him with a period when he did not perform well on the track or for behavior he found wrong.” said the judge.

“‘Neguinho’ is not an affectionate nickname, it reminds me that black has done something wrong, that he is an inferior race. “In this context, it is easy to understand that the use of ‘neguinho’ to refer to the black British pilot by a white defendant is discriminatory behavior with a harmful connotation.”

The judge understood Piquet associated homosexuality “to a negative trait” about “incompetence”. “The defendant’s immediate laughter reinforces the negative connotation of homosexuality and puts on a cynical tone,” the verdict said.