Nelson Piquet’s vile racist language towards Lewis Hamilton on a Brazilian TV show, in which the Brazilian described the Brit by the color of his skin (using the n-word), was followed up on English TV by former F1 commercial director Bernie Ecclestone.

Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, the 91-year-old was implicitly but clearly defending Nelson Piquet, a former champion in the 1980s with Ecclestone’s Brabham team at the time.

“I don’t know what anyone can do to stop people from saying something that seems appropriate to them at the time but really isn’t.” said Ecclestone. “You can’t start making rules about what people can and can’t say and I don’t know what kind of reaction he expected.”

Finally, the British businessman said he was “surprised” that Hamilton had “not brushed aside” the matter and avoided commenting on the fact that dozens of other F1 stars who slammed Piquet were made public as his offensive remarks , did not. Statements that once again brought to light Formula 1’s abysmal failure to bury racism deeper than the carpet of its surface posters.

Formula 1, which has been owned by American Liberty Media since 2017 – when it bought the rights to the sport from a consortium of companies led by Ecclestone – was quick to condemn the Brit’s words, saying so in a statement “Bernie Ecclestone’s statements are his personal views and are totally at odds with the modern values ​​of our sport.”

F1 not only referred to Ecclestone’s stance on Piquet, but also what the 91-year-old said about Russian President Vladimir Putin – who ordered his country’s armed forces to invade Ukraine in late February.

Bernie said of Vladimir Putin on the same show: “I would take a bullet for him. He is a first class personality and what he is doing is right for Russia in his opinion. Unfortunately, like many businessmen, he is certainly like me. We make mistakes sometimes and if you make a mistake then you have to do your best to get out of it.”

Hamilton: “Why are you trying them?”

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton commented again on Nelson Piquet’s statements – after they were posted on social media – asking why these “old voices” of Formula 1 as he described them are still being heard – even if it’s about one three-time world champions like Pique go.

At Silverstone, where the 10th Formula One GP of the year will be held in the next three days, Hamilton was asked what he thought of Nelson Piquet’s apology following his comment and replied: “First of all, I would like to say that I am grateful to everyone who has supported me from the world of our sport, especially the drivers.”

The 37-year-old continues: “It’s been two years since many of us got down on one knee in Austria and of course we’re still dealing with the consequences of that. I’ve been on the receiving end of racism and this negativity and outdated narratives time and suspicions of discrimination for a long time, which isn’t all that new to me.

I think it has to do with the bigger picture. I don’t know why you always let those old voices prevail. Because they are talking about our sport and we are trying to go in a completely different direction and I don’t think those comments are representative of who we are as a sport and where we want to go.

We must look to the future and see in the new voices the step that (they say) will be more representative. It has nothing to do with a person, nor with that particular comment. It’s the big picture.”

We remind you that, beyond Piquet’s words, this old generation has recently expressed publicly – through the mouth of Ecclestone and three-time champion Jackie Stewart – the opinion that it is time for Hamilton to hang up his gloves.

“I’ve always tried to respect these people,” Lewis said in response. He continued, “But again, that goes with what I said before: why are we giving these guys a leg? They’re not in that era, they’re not ready to change, and that suspicion of discrimination and easy aggression isn’t there in the world today doesn’t help. They cause more division.

I love that Michelle Obama says, “When they fall low, we rise high”. So that’s what I’m trying to do. Such people inspire me. I’m still here, I have no hesitation in continuing to do what I love and what I think is right.” concluded the seven-time world champion.