Formula One ( F1 )

Is it?

As he said, it can be interpreted in two ways, and of course people pick up on the bad side and it gets really blown out of proportion, because I know Nelson personally.

Seems shitty to me

Can't see that quote in the article, closest I can find is this:

“The wording I think was used – even with different cultures and things they said when they were little and younger – was not correct,” Verstappen said.

“Let it be a lesson to not use that word. It’s very offensive, especially nowadays, and gains even more traction.

“I have spent a bit of time with Nelson, more than the average person, he’s definitely not a racist and he’s actually a really nice guy.

“I’m pretty sure the statement he released, [he argued] you can see the word in two ways, but still better to not use that. But it’s not about that word, the n-word, it’s offensive language to anybody [which] is not correct.”

It's also nice to hear something that doesn't sound like something straight out of a media training session (though that's to be expected from Max I guess):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTX3R-xi7Zs

Naturally people are free to make up their own mind on their opinions on the matter.

Proper nice selective quoting that.

Max sounds well balanced talking about it if you read the article beyond the clickbait title.

+Carabo

You’re right, it’s from this article.

Isn’t it more selective to say he’s not a racist because you (a white guy dating his daughter) have never seen him be racist?

I suspect most racists are not outwardly racist 99% of the time and only harbour racist thoughts. Those come out as words or actions for that 1% but they’re there all the time.

Piquet is a racist, as shown by that 1%, and any attempt to mitigate that with an ‘it’s wrong but he’s a really nice guy’ approach, however minimal in Max’s overall response is not excusable.

There should be no ‘balance’ to calling out racism.

By the way, I personally think that statement is horrendous.

The wording I think was used

Already distancing himself by pretending not to know exactly what was said

– even with different cultures and things they said when they were little and younger –

Mitigating with specific circumstances despite Brazilian language speakers saying that the way he used the word or phrase has always been racist.

was not correct,” Verstappen said.

I think he means it was wrong. Still doesn’t commit to condemning the language and the way it was used.

Let it be a lesson to not use that word.

Sure.

It’s very offensive, especially nowadays, and gains even more traction.

It’s always been wrong. This reads like it’s worse these days because of social media / how people react.

I have spent a bit of time with Nelson, more than the average person, he’s definitely not a racist and he’s actually a really nice guy.

He is a racist. See previous post.

I’m pretty sure the statement he released, [he argued] you can see the word in two ways, but still better to not use that. But it’s not about that word, the n-word, it’s offensive language to anybody [which] is not correct.

Another paragraph defending a racist and saying it’s ‘not correct’ instead of absolutely wrong. He’s focussing on a word, not intent and use of it. Basically parroting Piquets own statement.

It’s a shit statement from someone I suspect doesn’t give one solitary shit about the whole situation. He’s a driver who’s never shown any interest in using his fame as a platform for change and this doubles down on that.

Sorry for the long posts.

I'm not sure that having a binary state / label of "he is / isn't a racist" is particularly useful. It's just a bit declarative.

More informative and pertinent to say that he definitely used racist language in a public forum. That he now denies that but has apologised for it. And that that makes one believe that he is likely to hold racist sentiments and has probably expressed them in more private situations, as well as, perhaps, acting in a racially biased way.

Yes, we can simply say "racist" but then it gets into a debate about definitions and semantics, rather than a conversation about Piquet and how this affair influences how we view and respond to him in the future. Also, to a lesser extent, Max.

As for me, I think NP has behaved awfully, is not worthy of any respect and will forever be tarnished as a shit in my view.

As for Max, I think he probably should have shut the fuck up, but given that he has a mouth on him, I don't particularly think he's done too badly in an impossible situation. CF Racist Uncle being racist at a wedding reception.... Ugggh

I seriously don't think that was an option given he's going to be asked time and time again this weekend. Saying "No comment" or similar is not a good look.

You're more than welcome to your opinion and I've not got any intention of trying to persuade you to change it.

I'm not sure that having a binary state / label of "he is / isn't a racist" is particularly useful. It's just a bit declarative.

His description of Lewis Hamilton was pretty binary….

His description of Lewis Hamilton was pretty binary….

Yes. But still.

Also, let's ensure we don't use the prefix non on the word binary in this conversation or else all the worms will be out of all the cans in a very confused manner.

But still what?

I’m genuinely baffled by people’s opinions on this in here. He used language in a racist way. Purposefully. He is a racist.

Does that mean that he can’t become ‘unracist’ because we’ve labelled him as such? Absolutely not.

Does using the mitigation Max used in his comments help Lewis and others in similar situations? Absolutely not.

All over this forum, people will call for the heads or jobs of people who speak or act in a discriminatory way towards cyclists. Why wouldn’t we do the same for people who act that way towards black people?

Yeah, pretty weak from Max IMO.

@mmccarthy have you seen Vettel will be busting out Mansell's old Williams this weekend?

I did! That's the one he bought a few years back right?

Good to see those sorts of things running and I think the plan is to get it running on synthesised fuel which while great is a drop in the ocean compared to what's being used to fuel the travelling circus! A good step at least

So apparently McLaren aren't bringing any more upgrades this year and are focussing on next year's car. But isn't next year's regulations basically the same as this year's? I couldn't see anything obvious (I think the % of synthesised fuel is going to increase but that's not a McLaren problem to solve).

Obviously the team are much more knowledgeable than I on this point, but I don't quite understand the reasoning. I think the question was asked of Mercedes a while back and their response was that the 2023 car would just be an evolution of the 2022 car so it wouldn't make sense to drop development on this year's car.

Does it have anything to do with development credits? Think they’re limited in how and where they spend them.

Quite possibly, don't recall McLaren going particularly big on spending this season though. At least not in an obvious sense

Nice to see Ricciardo thrashing Norris for a change:

https://twitter.com/FormulaReaction/status/1542558900007960576

As much as I'd rather focus on the racing, looks like there's more fuel for the "Piquet is an outright racist prick" fire: https://twitter.com/NaturalParadigm/status/1542704300933136385

Read about it this morning too. He’s a racist cunt.

His ‘apology’ shows he doesn’t think he’s done anything wrong and anyone who parrots his weak excuses is only enabling him.

https://twitter.com/NaturalParadigm/status/1542704300933136385

Quote from a Brazilian on Reddit
"Holy shit this video is 100% worse than the original one which caused all the traction.

The translation isn't accurate. It said the "neguinho" was giving his ass so he was bad, it should be "the 'neguinho' was probably getting fucked in the ass way too much which made him a worse driver that year".

This is fucking obnoxious."

Also the fact that he manage to wrangle that into a question about Keke Rosberg, that's some chip on his shoulder

And so casually too, like it was something he'd said 100 times before.