Red Bull chief Helmut Marko has refused to apologise for his xenophobic comments toward Sergio Perez, reiterating his belief that he is ‘not as focused’ as his Formula One rivals because of his nationality.
Marko initially made those remarks about his own driver earlier this week following the Italian Grand Prix, where Perez drove well from fifth on the grid to finish second behind teammate Max Verstappen.
Speaking about Perez’s performance at Monza, the head of Red Bull’s driver development programme told ServusTV: ‘The Italian GP was surely one of Checo Perez’s best weekends and we know about his problems in qualifying, which is where he has his doubts.
‘Let’s remember that he 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.
‘Overtaking three drivers, in George Russell and the Ferrari drivers, was not easy, as we knew they were faster on the straights. In the race, Perez did everything right and now we have circuits like Singapore, where he has already won and which suit him better.’
The ‘South American’ comment has received significant backlash, for not only incorrectly stereotyping an entire continent, but also for the simple fact that Perez is from Mexico which is of course in North America.
The comment makes little to no sense as well given the continent has a strong F1 heritage and has produced some of the sport’s greatest drivers like Brazil’s Ayrton Senna and Argentina’s Juan Manuel Fangio.
Moreover, Brazilian drivers have won eight titles between them and Argentina five, feats bettered only by the UK and Germany, and more than the likes of Finland, France, Austria, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.
Marko is infamous for his scathing and unsavoury comments on drivers, not least the ones on Red Bull’s payroll, and has been frequently criticised for his remarks.
Given the opportunity to apologise for what he said about Perez, the 80-year-old instead claimed that he had been misunderstood, telling Austrian news outlet OE24: ‘It wasn’t meant that way.
‘I meant that a Mexican has a different mentality than a German or a Dutchman. But who knows, maybe it’s (Perez’s mentality) controlled.’
This is not the first time that Marko has used the ‘South American’ slur against the 33-year-old racer however, having done so last year when he told Sky Germany: ‘As a South American, he [Perez] generally has a lot of ups and downs.’
Neither Red Bull nor Perez are yet to comment on the matter, with the next round of the championship to take place in Singapore next weekend.
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