ANTHONY JOSHUA has stepped into the race row which rocked F1 after British ace Sir Lewis Hamilton was called the n-word.
Hamilton demanded a crackdown after grand prix legend Nelson Piquet, 69, used a Brazilian slang version of the word twice in a shocking podcast interview.
Anthony Joshua, speaking at a Black Lives Matter march in June 2020, has revealed he received ‘upsetting’ racist abuse in his youth
Lewis Hamilton was the target of vile racist abuse from former F1 world champ Nelson Piquet
The former race ace said on a video which went viral on social media on Tuesday: “The n***** put the car in the wrong way and didn’t let (the other driver swerve).
“The n***** put the car in the wrong way on the corner, it’s because you don’t know the curve.”
Seven-times world champ Hamilton, 37, hit back: “’I’ve been surrounded by these attitudes and targeted my whole life. Time has come for action.”
Joshua revealed he has suffered similar “upsetting” abuse in his youth yesterday and called for focused education to help stamp out bigotry.
Read More on SE
He told SE: “It can happen to anyone – your son or your brother or your nephew – not just Lewis Hamilton – imagine what it’s like for ordinary people who hear it.
“That’s where it’s really upsetting and that’s why people start rallying and marching because it’s the people who are vulnerable that need to come together against these things.
“But things are changing – definitely – because people need to understand and explore other people’s culture.
“Schools that teach kids about religion should also teach about culture – it’s all about education.”
Piquet – world champion in 1981, 83 and 87 – is facing a lifelong F1 ban from ALL future races amid calls to axe his access to F1’s VIP paddock.
He reacted to the race storm ahead of this weekend’s British GP with a statement in which he denied making a racist comment against Hamilton.
Instead, the 69-year-old, who is the father of Max Verstappen’s girlfriend, said he was mistranslated but did admit his comments were ill-thought and issued an apology to Hamilton.
He said: “I would like to clear up the stories circulating in the media about a comment I made in an interview last year.
“What I said was ill thought out, and I make no defence for it, but I will clarify that the term used is one that has widely and historically been used colloquially in Brazilian Portuguese as a synonym for ‘guy’ or ‘person’ and was never intended to offend.
Read More on SE
“I would never use the word I have been accused of in some translations. I strongly condemn any suggestion that the word was used by me with the aim of belittling a driver because of his skin colour.
“I apologise wholeheartedly to anyone that was affected, including Lewis, who is an incredible driver, but the translation in some media that is now circulating on social media is not correct.
“Discrimination has no place in F1 or society and I am happy to clarify my thoughts in that respect.”
