Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko recently caused outrage with a stereotypical statement about his driver Sergio Perez. Mercedes superstar Lewis Hamilton now jumped to the Mexican’s side. Meanwhile, the person affected sees no problem at all.
Turmoil in Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton clearly criticized Red Bull boss Helmut Marko on the sidelines of the Singapore Grand Prix and once again condemned any kind of discrimination. “It is completely unacceptable what he said,” said the Briton on “Sky Sports” on Thursday.
“While we say that there is no place for any kind of discrimination in this sport, which is how it should be, it is not good for us when leaders and people in his position make such comments,” Hamilton shot in the direction of the Austrian .
Hamilton continued: “I think it shows how much work we still have to do. There are a lot of people in the background who are really trying to combat these things, but it’s hard when there are people at the top who have that kind of mentality that just prevents us from making progress.”
Red Bull driver Perez: “We all make mistakes”
After the Italian Grand Prix, Helmut Marko linked his driver Sergio Perez’s fluctuations in form with his origins during an appearance on “ServusTV”. Perez, as a “South American,” says Marko, “is not as completely focused in his head as, for example, Max (Verstappen, editor’s note) or Sebastian (Vettel) was.”
The statements then caused great outrage online, and Marko was accused of racism and xenophobia. The 80-year-old has since apologized to Sergio Perez both in a written statement and in a one-to-one conversation.
For Perez, the matter has long since ended; according to his own statement, he did not feel affected anyway. “I know Helmut. I know he doesn’t mean it the way it was understood. We all make mistakes. I can’t control what happens in public or in the media. If I were to read the comments from a distance, “I might think so too. But for me the personal relationship is the most important thing,” said the Mexican on Thursday.