F1 News: Nelson Piquet Investigated By Brazilian Prosecutors After Wishing Death On President
Three-time Formula One champion Nelson Piquet is being investigated by Brazilian prosecutors after footage of him wishing for the death of president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Piquet supports Da Silva's opposition, Jair Bolsonaro. Da Silva won the presidential election on Sunday and Piquet joined thousands of protesters on the streets to complain about the results.
The former F1 driver, who is father to Max Verstappen's partner, has also said that he wants the armed forces to stop Da Silva from taking the office from January 1st 2023. The video, that has since gone viral, shows Piquet saying "it is Lula in the cemetery" about Da Silva.
A statement from the Brazilian federal prosecutor's office read that they will be investigating Piquet for alleged incitation to violence and for encouraging rifts between branches of power and the military.
The statement says:
“Nelson Piquet is a person of public notoriety and, because of that, he should know his statements have the potential of reaching hundreds of thousands of people,”
Piquet has not made any comments on the situation at the moment, although it is thought that he and the person who filmed the video will be testifying before the federal police.
This is not the first time that Piquet has run into trouble. Earlier this year, videos were released of Piquet referring to seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton with racial slurs and homophobic language.
Piquet addressed the situation and apologised to Hamilton saying that he did not mean to be offensive.