Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko triggered a huge controversy when he slammed Sergio Perez by making a reference to his background. The 80-year-old used a “South American” jibe to point out the weaknesses the Mexican has in comparison to most European drivers. While the Austrian’s remarks undoubtedly did result in massive controversy, the 33-year-old has interestingly now attempted to use the nationality card to defend himself.
Perez believes that the criticisms he faces are harsher because he is Mexican. The Red Bull driver then used the example of George Russell to explain his point further. The former Racing Point driver explained how the Briton did not face much flak despite crashing out from third during the Singapore Grand Prix last month.
Well done @redbullracing ! Back-to-back champions for the second year.
¡Bien hecho @redbullracing ! Campeones por segundo año consecutivo.#SP11 pic.twitter.com/ZL0qmi6kuZ
— Sergio Pérez (@SChecoPerez) September 24, 2023
Russell was in a fantastic position to clinch a podium for the team when a mistake on the final lap resulted in him scoring no points. Perez believes that such incidents are normal among racing drivers, and he does not understand why he specifically continues to face unfair criticism.
Sergio Perez hits back at unfair critics
While speaking in an interview, Sergio Perez expressed the frustrations he has with his critics. The Mexican used George Russell’s example to explain why he believes that the critics he faces are harsher because of his nationality.
“We saw it with Russell (in Singapore). He crashed from third place on the last lap, but you don’t hear anyone talking about it. If something like that happens at Red Bull, you immediately have three hundred media channels on your roof telling you that you have to leave“, explained Perez (as quoted by motorsportweek.com).
Perez then made a specific reference to his nationality by adding, “Also, I have the feeling that the fact that I am Mexican also has a big influence.” It is pertinent to note that the Mexican’s recent remarks come soon after the FIA warned Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko for the “South American” jibe he used to criticize Perez.
What did Marko say about Perez?
Even though Sergio Perez has failed to live up to the expectations of Red Bull to some extent, team advisor Helmut Marko went a bit too far when he used a nationalistic jibe to criticize the Mexican. Although the 80-year-old apologized for his remarks afterward, the F1 community were left stunned.
Marko had given an interview to Sport & Talk of Servus TV when he stated, “Let’s remember that he (Perez) is South American, and so his head is not as focused as Max Verstappen or as Sebastian Vettel was, but racing is his forte and he had a very good race (at Monza).”
Soon after Marko made these remarks, he received immense criticism from fans on social media and even from some drivers, such as Lewis Hamilton. The 38-year-old, who has long fought his own racism battles in the sport, made it clear that Marko’s remarks were unacceptable and that apologies for such comments are no longer acceptable.
