The Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko has apologised for blaming Mexican driver Sergio Pérez’s fluctuating form on his “cultural heritage”.
The 80-year-old Austrian, who is an advisor to the dominant Formula One team, issued a formal statement on Friday via the ServusTV website.
“I would like to apologise for my offensive remark and want to make it absolutely clear that I do not believe that we can generalise about the people from any country, any race, any ethnicity,” Marko said.
“I was trying to make a point that Checo (Pérez) has fluctuated in his performance this year, but it was wrong to attribute this to his cultural heritage,” Marko added.
Marko, a former racer and close friend of the late Red Bull owner, Dietrich Mateschitz, had made his remarks on the energy drink company’s television station following last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza – wrongly describing Pérez as South American.
“We know that he has problems in qualifying, he has fluctuations in form, he is South American and he is just not as completely focused in his head as Max [Verstappen] is or as Sebastian [Vettel],” he said then.
It is not the first time Marko has referred to Pérez as being from South America. The Mexican comes from Guadalajara, which is geographically in North America. An earlier attempt by Marko to clarify his comments only dug a deeper hole.
The Austrian news website OE24 reported Marko as saying: “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 controlled.”
While Marko attends races in Red Bull Racing uniform, he reports to the energy drink company and is not an employee of the British-based F1 champions, who had no immediate comment. Nevertheless, Marko’s ill-advised comments have sparked an online backlash among fans and made headlines in Mexico.
“This cannot keep happening to Sergio Perez,” declared motor sport website The Race on Friday. “He deserves better than to have to grin and bear derogatory remarks from a senior figure in Red Bull’s F1 organisation. The way Helmut Marko talks about him needs to stop.”
The RBR Daily feed on social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, condemned Marko’s comments in a statement to its 35,000 followers. “Such comments will not be tolerated. A racial stereotype was used to criticise his performance which is absolutely disgraceful and inexcusable,” it said.
Pérez joined Red Bull in 2021 with the team looking for a solid driver to support Dutch team leader Max Verstappen, who is now heading for his third world title. Germany’s Vettel won four world titles for Red Bull from 2010-13.
The Mexican has won six races, two of them this season, and has a contract until 2024. He is second overall in the championship but is 145 points behind Verstappen after 14 of 22 races and his future after the end of his deal remains uncertain.
Marko did compliment Pérez for finishing second in Italy last weekend, a race that handed Verstappen a record 10th win in a row. “He had a very good race. Overtaking three drivers, in George Russell and the Ferraris, was not easy,” said the Austrian.
At time of writing, Pérez has not commented publicly on Marko’s comments or subsequent apology.
