F1 bosses are considering banning Nelson Piquet for life following heinous racist abuse of Lewis Hamilton

FORMULA ONE bosses are considering a life ban on three-time world champion Nelson Piquet after he racially abused Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton urged F1 to “act” after the Brazilian used the N-word to describe the British star.

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Piquet’s insult is believed to have come in an interview conducted in Brazil last year – but surfaced on Tuesday.

The 69-year-old Brazilian is said to have spoken out about a collision between Hamilton and Max Verstappen, who is dating Piquet’s daughter Kelly.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton wrote on social media: “It’s more than language. These archaic ways of thinking need to change and have no place in our sport.

“I’ve been surrounded by these attitudes all my life and aimed for them. There was a lot of time to study. The time to act has come.”

The explosive series is increasing the pressure on F1 ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix.

F1 bosses responded with a statement supporting Hamilton.

It read: “Discriminatory or racist language is unacceptable and has no part in society.

“Lewis is an incredible ambassador for our sport and deserves respect. His relentless efforts to increase diversity and inclusion are a lesson to many and something we are committed to at F1.”

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Hamilton’s Mercedes team also slammed Piquet, who won the world championship in 1981 and 1983 with Brabham and again in 1987 with Williams.

They said: “We condemn in the strongest terms any use of racist or discriminatory language of any kind.

“Lewis has spearheaded our sport’s efforts to combat racism and he is a true advocate for diversity on and off the track.

“This incident underscores the fundamental importance of continuing to strive for a better tomorrow.”

Hamilton’s first campaign to highlight racism began when he supported Colin Kaepernick, the former NFL player who took the knee in protest during America’s national anthem in 2016 but has since escalated.

It has evolved from kneeling on one knee or wearing protest t-shirts before races – incidents that didn’t sit particularly well with the F1 hierarchy.

In September 2020, he wore a t-shirt at the Tuscany GP that read ‘Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor’ – which caused panic among F1 and its governing body, the FIA, as the organization is supposed to remain politically neutral.

Taylor, 26, was shot dead in March 2020 when officers stormed her Kentucky home for a search warrant for drugs.

Hamilton is also not afraid to raise his voice and speak out not just about racism, but inclusivity and LGBT rights.

Sometimes when he wasn’t particularly comfortable given the political situation in certain countries, which in turn was a major headache for Formula 1.

But his actions have created positive trends in the paddock as other teams have started to focus on improving their own diversity.

Hamilton’s abuse came when Red Bull canceled the contract of Estonian reserve driver Juri Vips, 21, for using racist language during a live gaming stream.

Red Bull wrote: “The team does not condone any form of racism.”