Former Formula One champion Nelson Piquet is in hot water in Brazil after he used racist and homophobic slurs against British racing star Lewis Hamilton. 

A Brazilian judge on Monday ordered an investigation of the Formula One legend's comments in an interview that happened in November but came out in June.

According to The Associated Press, four human rights groups are seeking 10 million Brazilian reals from the 69-year-old Piquet for the alleged moral damage he caused against both black and LGBTQ people. 

However, Piquet did not comment on these charges. He now has 15 days to state his case before judge Felipe Costa da Fonseca Gomes of the Distrito Federal court.

Former Formula One Champ Nelson Piquet Singled Out Lewis Hamilton During the Controversial Interview

The Brazilian racing legend, who won three championships throughout his career, made the comments in Portuguese while he was discussing the crash between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen during last year's British Grand Prix. 

According to CNN, Verstappen is dating Nelson Piquet's daughter. In the interview, he referred to Hamilton as "neguinho," which in Portuguese means "little Black guy." It is not used as a racial slur in Brazil, as noted by The Associated Press, but the expression is seen increasingly in the country as distasteful.

However, another excerpt from the video showed that Piquet singled out Hamilton and even added a homophobic slur. Piquet allegedly used homophobic language in that more controversial comment to say that Hamilton was not focused on challenging Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg for the 2016 title.

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Former Formula One Champ Nelson Piquet Maintains He Said Nothing Wrong

Nelson Piquet brushed off the outrage against his words during an interview with Motorsport Magazine at the Le Mans classic. He claimed that there was nothing wrong with what he said. 

In a statement to CNN, the Brazilian racing legend said his words were just mistranslated. Sky Sports reported that the former world champion apologized "wholeheartedly" to Lewis Hamilton but strongly condemned any suggestion that he racially abused the British racing star.

This comes as several Formula One drivers, media personalities, and Formula One management condemned the Brazilian former world champion for his comments.

In response to the comments made by Piquet against him, Hamilton said it's more than just language, as it's an "archaic mindset" that has no place in their sport. He noted that he had been surrounded by such attitudes his whole life, adding that now was the time for action. 

The British racing star also tweeted in Portuguese, calling to focus on changing the mentality. Verstappen also condemned the words made by the father of the woman he is dating. 

However, he insisted that Piquet is "definitely not a racist." The Dutchman, the reigning world champion, told the media, "Everyone is against racism."

Nelson Piquet is considered a racing legend in Brazil, having won three world championships. He won the world title twice for Brabham in 1981 and 1983 and Williams in 1987.

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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