Formula 1

Former Formula 1 champ Nelson Piquet is apologizing for the controversial comments he made about Lewis Hamilton in an interview last year ... but claims there was zero racial intent behind his words.

Piquet was discussing an accident between the Mercedes superstar and his daughter's boyfriend, Max Verstappen, after the 2021 Silverstone Grand Prix ... when, according to a translation by CNN Brazil, he referred to Hamilton as a "little n*****."

The 69-year-old says he would never use such a disgusting term ... claiming the translation was completely inaccurate.

"What I said was ill-thought-out, and I make no defense for it, but the term used has widely and historically been used colloquially in Brazilian Portuguese as a synonym for 'guy' or 'person' and was never intended to offend," Piquet said in a statement Wednesday morning.

"I would never use the word I have been accused of in some translations," he added. "I strongly condemn any suggestion word was used with aim of belittling a driver because of his skin color. I apologize wholeheartedly to anyone affected."

Piquet praises Lewis as an incredible driver and apologized for the hurt he caused ... saying, "Discrimination has no place in F1 or society and I am happy to clarify my thoughts in that respect."

Lewis has yet to respond to the apology ... but tweeted a call for change within the sport on Tuesday.

"It’s more than language," the 7-time champion said. "These archaic mindsets need to change and have no place in our sport. I’ve been surrounded by these attitudes and targeted my whole life. There has been plenty of time to learn. Time has come for action."

Juri Vips has just been fired by Red Bull Racing ... less than two weeks after the F2 driver was captured using a racial slur on a hot mic on a video game stream.

RBR just made the announcement, saying after completing its investigation into the junior driver, it decided to terminate Vips' contract.

"The team do not condone any form of racism," RBR said in their announcement Tuesday.

Red Bull Racing initially launched its probe into Vips last week ... after the 21-year-old used the n-word while playing "Call of Duty" on a live stream.

Vips did apologize following the incident ... saying in a statement on his social media page, "This language is entirely unacceptable and does not portray the values and principles that I hold. I deeply regret my actions and this is not the example I wish to set."

Lewis Hamilton is demanding change after former champion Nelson Piquet called him the n-word in an interview last year ... saying racism of any kind has no place in Formula 1.

Piquet -- a Brazilian F1 legend who won titles in 1981, 1983 and 1987 -- made the comments while discussing an accident in the first lap of the 2021 Silverstone Grand Prix ... when Hamilton made contact with Max Verstappen, leading the Red Bull driver to lose control and crash into the wall.

According to CNN Brazil, 69-year-old Piquet referred to Hamilton as a "little n*****" while speaking with Motorsports Talk ... adding, "The little black guy put the car in and left because there was no way to pass two cars on that corner."

"He made a joke," Piquet continued. "Lucky for him, only the other one [Verstappen] got f***** up."

FYI -- Piquet's daughter, Kelly, is in a relationship with Verstappen.

While the comment was made last year, it is just now gaining attention ... which led the Mercedes superstar to condemn the racist comment.

"It's more than language," Lewis tweeted minutes ago. "These archaic mindsets need to change and have no place in our sport. I've been surrounded by these attitudes and targeted my whole life."

"There has been plenty of time to learn. Time has come for action."

Hamilton, 37, also tweeted a response in Portuguese ... saying, "Vamos focar em mudar a mentalidade" ... which translates to "Let's focus on changing the mindset."

The F1 world is now showing support for Hamilton ... with the sport's governing body releasing a statement Tuesday morning.

"The FIA strongly condemns any racist or discriminatory language and behavior, which have no place in sport or wider society."

"We express our solidarity with Lewis Hamilton and fully support his commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion in motorsport."

F1 also addressed the comment ... saying, "Discriminatory or racist language is unacceptable in any form and has no part in society."

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

Hamilton -- the only black driver to compete in F1 -- has been at the forefront of change in the sport ... and led the organization's anti-racism campaign following George Floyd's death in 2020.

Lewis Hamilton isn't just a killer on the track -- the Formula 1 superstar clearly knows his way around the water, too ... showing off his incredible moves during a surf session in Malibu this week.

Of course, Lewis is all about getting his adrenaline rush when he's not behind the wheel -- he recently went skydiving in a pretty terrifying video.

But, things were a bit more chill during the Mercedes driver's off-week before Silverstone ... throwing on his wetsuit and catching some waves in California.

The guy clearly knows what he's doing ... propping himself up on the board and maintaining his balance throughout the run (no porpoising here, thankfully).

Sir Lewis also had some fun on a different type of board as well ... longboarding through the streets before getting his beloved doggo, Roscoe, in on the fun.

It's been a challenging start to the 2022 campaign for the 7-time champ -- he's currently 6th in the standings with only two podiums -- but he looks more than happy during his time away from the track.

Red Bull Racing has suspended junior driver Juri Vips after the 21-year-old used the n-word this week while playing "Call of Duty" on a live stream.

The driver -- who's racing in Formula 2 this year -- was gaming on Twitch with another driver when microphones caught him abruptly using the racial slur.

On Tuesday, Red Bull Racing announced its suspended Vips "from all team duties" over the language ... saying an investigation is ongoing.

"As an organization, we condemn abuse of any kind," the Red Bull Racing team said in a statement, "and have a zero-tolerance policy to racist language or behaviors within our organization.”

Vips released an apology on his Instagram page shortly after the suspension was announced -- saying what he did was "unacceptable."

"I wish to unreservedly apologize for the offensive language used during a live gaming stream earlier today," Vips said.

"This language is entirely unacceptable and does not portray the values and principles that I hold. I deeply regret my actions and this is not the example I wish to set."

The Estonian driver -- who won the 2017 ADAC Formula championship -- had been sitting 7th in the Formula 2 standings this season.

F1 star Sergio Pérez is owning up to the videos of him partying with women after winning Monaco on Sunday ... saying the clips do not represent his character -- and claiming his relationship with his wife is stronger than ever.

Footage of Checo's celebration started making rounds on the internet after the huge victory ... showing the Red Bull driver dancing and putting his hands around women who are not his wife, Carola.

32-year-old Pérez is now addressing the vids ... taking full responsibility for his actions.

"It was a bad party that I did not know how to control myself," the Mexican driver said on Instagram. "But it was just that, a bad party."

"The people close to me know my values and the type of person that I am."

Pérez is adamant there are no issues with his wife -- who just gave birth to their third child, Emilio, last month -- saying they are "more united than ever."

"And for those that just want to cause us harm, I wish you better."

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz are taking their talents to infinity and beyond -- the Formula 1 stars have voiceover gigs in Disney's new "Lightyear" movie!!

The Scuderia Ferrari drivers teamed up with the Mouse for cameos in the Buzz Lightyear origin story ... with Charles slated to be featured in the Italian version of the flick, and Carlos joining the Spanish version.

Unclear what role they have in the movie ... but Ferrari said in an announcement they are playing the same character.

The duo appeared in promos for the project ... with Leclerc saying this was his first time getting in the booth.

"It was a completely different experience from what I have done in the past," Leclerc said Wednesday.

Leclerc says the partnership is a perfect fit -- he says he has a lot of similarities with the "Toy Story" spaceman ... pointing out they both love to go fast and have supportive families and teams behind them.

This isn't the first Formula 1/Disney crossover -- Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher have had guest spots in the "Cars" franchise.

4-time Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel reportedly had to put his speed to the test after the Spanish Grand Prix ... chasing after a group of thieves who made off with his bag.

Vettel -- who finished P11 on Sunday -- was reportedly exiting his Aston Martin in Barcelona on Monday when the robbers grabbed his backpack and made a run for it.

Apparently, Vettel wasn't going down without a fight -- because according to local reports, he hopped on a scooter and used the GPS tracking on his AirPods to hunt down his bag.

Unfortunately for Vettel, the thieves must've planned ahead ... because once he made it to his headphones, they were not with his bag.

A rep for AM spoke about the incident ... saying, "A bag belonging to Sebastian Vettel was stolen in Barcelona this morning; he tried to find it by using his iPhone to track his earphones which were in his bag; but when he located his earphones he found them abandoned and was therefore unable to locate his stolen bag."

Sorry NASCAR and IndyCar fans -- Daniel Ricciardo says he's already got his plans lined up after he retires from Formula 1 ... and it doesn't include racing in the U.S.

TMZ Sports spoke with the McLaren driver out in West Hollywood this week ... and asked if he'd ever take his talents to the States full-time when he's all done tearing it up in F1.

Of course, Daniel is only 32 ... and Sebastian Vettel (34), Lewis Hamilton (37), and Fernando Alonso (40) are all still doing their thing on the track this year.

But, Ricciardo got people talking recently ... when he jokingly said he was delaying his retirement after F1 announced the Las Vegas Grand Prix would debut in 2023.

The guy was clearly just having a laugh, but it put the thought into fans' heads that maybe he was considering hanging up the helmet soon.

While Ricciardo says he's a huge fan NASCAR and American racing, he says he intends to enjoy his time away from behind the wheel.

F1 superstar Daniel Ricciardo is giving the Miami Grand Prix two thumbs up -- telling TMZ Sports he had an absolute blast in Florida over the weekend ... especially because he got to hang out with his bestie, Josh Allen!!

Of course, the biggest stars on the planet were in town for the inaugural race ... from David Beckham to Tom Brady and Michael Jordan.

Ricciardo says it was an awesome experience having so many celebs stop by ... telling us, "It was cool, it was pretty nuts, actually. It was pretty wild."

But, there was one VIP that had Daniel super pumped ... and that's the Buffalo Bills quarterback, who was a special guest for McLaren.

In case you didn't know, Ricciardo and Allen have randomly become really close over the years ... with Daniel -- a hardcore Bills fan -- instantly clicking with the signal-caller after meeting in Monaco in 2019.

We spoke with Ricciardo about hanging with #17 ... and you can tell by the look on his face, he's still giddy over the bro sesh.

As for the race, Ricciardo finished 13th ... but he definitely still enjoyed himself.

Ricciardo also talked about the hit Netflix series, "Drive To Survive" getting picked up for two more seasons ... and he says he's not sick of the cameras hanging around him just yet.

F1 driver Valtteri Bottas was one with nature during his trip to Aspen, Colorado ... getting buck nekkid and laying out in a creek!!

The Alfa Romeo star took a trip to the Centennial State after finishing 7th at the Miami Grand Prix over the weekend ... and didn't shy away from showing off his posterior on Instagram.

Now, it's not a new sight for fans of Netflix's "Drive to Survive" -- the Finnish driver takes it ALL off while sitting in the sauna during the show ... so really, this is just another day for Bottas' backers.

F1 drivers have a bit of downtime before taking the track in Barcelona ... so it's nice to see VB checking out the States a bit.

Steve Aoki had a night full of ups and one down ... falling hard off the stage during his DJ set at a nightclub, before getting back up to continue.

Steve hit the floor (literally) Sunday night at DAER Nightclub in Hollywood, Florida. During his set, he fell really hard off the stage and landed on the ground ... but, he didn't stay down for long.

Moments later, he hops back up and goes back to work on the turntables. For the most part, he didn't seem too affected by the tumble ... bobbing his head and getting back in the zone.

At one point after the fall, he even puts on his boxing gloves and squares off with boxer Ryan Garcia ... and punches weren't the only things the guys ate on stage. Steve even threw a huge cake in Ryan's face, before they danced it all out, together.

Some other notable guests in the building included ... Dennis Rodman, Shaggy, Vernon Davis, and Sommer Ray.

Celebrity Sports Entertainment put on the event, which was an F1 after-party ... clearly, it was a fun night, full of many surprises.

Olivia Culpo is starting off her 30th birthday celebration by picking up a new talent -- pole dancing!!

The model, her fam and her NFL superstar boyfriend, Christian McCaffrey, hit up Miami for a weekend full of fun ... from fancy dinners to clubbing, to hitting up the Formula 1 Grand Prix.

But the most attention-grabbing moment of the party is when the birthday girl -- wearing a tiny silver dress -- decided to take advantage of a pole inside a party bus ... by hopping up on it and going for a spin!!

The whole bus cheered for Olivia as she did her thing ... and her sister, Sophia, even looked shocked.

OC shared a recap of the festivities on Instagram ... saying, "30th birthday! This milestone scared me but I have to say I feel so incredibly grateful for the people in my life, and for all of you."

"Thank you for following my crazy journey through life and giving me an outlet to be myself. I don’t want this to be too long but I love you guys and thank you so so much for the bday wishes !!!!"

Nas went from a King of New York to an Emperor in Miami this weekend -- the guy headlined a banger of a show to round out the Formula 1 event in town ... and killed it.

The rapper took the stage Sunday at Carbone Beach, where the whole joint went on a trip down memory lane to some of his early hits in the '90s ... including a ton of 'Illmatic' tracks that the crowd was vibing to in what appears to have been a pretty intimate setting.

Speaking of that audience ... it was about as star-studded as they come. Some of the A-listers in attendance -- DJ Khaled, Venus Williams, Jamie Foxx, Hailee Steinfeld, Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz, Busta Rhymes, Lindsey Vonn, Kevin Love, LeBron James, Rich Paul, Maverick Carter, Meek Mill, Timbaland, and Karrueche Tran ... among others.

Nas himself played to the spectators throughout his set, all while holding some sort of beverage in his hand. Looks like it was a boozy affair -- just about everyone seemed to have a cocktail to themselves.

Definitely a great way to end the week, and Nas's performance is right up there with Travis Scott's show from Saturday night ... where the guy rocked the mic in full capacity, the first since he's done a show like that since Astroworld.

Paolo Banchero is NOT Patrick Mahomes -- a fairly obvious fact that Martin Brundle had to learn the hard way ... live on the air, no less. Whoops!

The former race car driver-turned-broadcaster was in the middle of his coverage of Sunday's Grand Prix down in Miami for Sky Sports ... where he was flagging people down for interviews on the speedway grid like he usually does each year.

Unfortunately, he manifested a case of mistaken identity ... doing a stop-and-chat with the star Duke basketball player -- who towered over everyone at an impressive 6'10" -- whom he apparently thought was the Kansas City Chiefs star QB. It was funny ... and kinda cringe.

Check it out -- you see Brundle spot who he thinks is PM, and shouts out his name ... only to be ignored by Paolo. When he finally catches up to him though ... he gets his interview.

After a few seconds, MB realizes Paolo isn't Pat ... and sorta apologizes as Paolo goes on his way. Doesn't seem he was sweating the mix-up either, dropping a "whatever" afterward.

At one point, Brundle came across a rando that he seems to have thought might've been famous -- but rather than make the leap he did with Paolo/Patrick, he politely asked ... who the heck are ya??? This interview didn't go so great either, though ... but made for good TV.

LeBron James came back Saturday night to where he started the weekend ... at CARBONE BEACH in Miami Beach, and he partied his ass off!!!

LeBron was having a great time, drinking, dancing and hanging with pals. It's all part of Grand Prix weekend, and it was wild.

There were other celebs on hand ... Meek Mill showed up with some friends and was chilling with the crowd. Patrick Mahomes was also there with his wife Brittany Matthews.

But that's just the beginning of the roster ... Serena and Venus Williams, Travis Kelce, Lindsey Vonn, Kevin Love and lots of others showed up for a night of great food and partying.

LeBron didn't stop at Carbone ... at a point -- late in the evening -- he bailed and went to another club and partied most of the night.