After Alleged Racism Against Lewis Hamilton, Nelson Piquet's Status As Honorary Member Of The British Drivers' Association Suspended

JAKARTA - The British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) has decided to suspend Nelson Piquet's honorary membership. This follows the act of racism by the holder of the three Formula 1 world titles (F1) against Lewis Hamilton.

BRDC as the owner of the Silverstone Circuit, said Piquet had expressed an official apology to Hamilton. However, based on organizational policies, they still do not tolerate racism in any form.

“The BDRC Council has decided to use the language of Mr. Piquet Sr. racially offensive to portray a fellow BRDC member (and a seven-time world champion) is unacceptable and represents a highly inappropriate act for a BRDC Honorary Member, despite his subsequent apology," the BRDC statement said.

"Therefore, we have notified Mr Piquet Sr that his membership has been suspended with immediate effect. Following the Club's legal proceedings, it is expected that the Board will terminate Mr Piquet Sr's membership at a board meeting to be held after the required seven-day notice period." .

The start of the furore was when a video circulated showing Nelson Piquet in an interview taken in November 2021 discussing the British Grand Prix at Silverstone last year.

In the video, Piquet criticizes Hamilton for being the trigger for the accident with Max Verstappen. During the interview, Piquet addressed Hamilton with racist pronouns, in Portuguese.

"The (racist calls to Hamilton) put the car on the left and because there is no way to overtake the two cars in that corner. He did the dirty way," Piquet said at the time.

Shortly after the video interview went viral, F1 and Mercedes immediately issued an official statement condemning all acts of racism and discrimination.

In the aftermath of his words, the same source said that Pique would no longer be accepted in the F1 paddock even though he himself did not regularly attend races.