Hamilton condemns the comments made by Helmut Marko about South American culture
The Red Bull advisor had made hurtful and almost insulting remarks about Sergio Perez, stating that he couldn't be 100% focused because he was "South American". Although the Austrian has apologized, Lewis Hamilton believes it is not enough.
The remarks had almost gone unnoticed, but they finally made headlines around the world. The day after the Italian Grand Prix held in Monza, Helmut Marko made an awkward comparison between Sergio Perez and two other former Red Bull drivers. “We know that [Perez] has problems in qualifying. He fluctuates, he’s South American, and in his mind, he simply isn’t as fully focused as Max [Verstappen] or Sebastian [Vettel],” he stated live on Servus TV
Following this controversy, the Austrian [Helmut Marko] publicly apologized by issuing a statement, as stated in [Excuses Marko](/f1/actualite/31598-helmut-marko-sexcuse-aupres-sergio-perez-apres-remarque-deplacee.html) «. “I was trying to convey that Checo’s performances have fluctuated this year, but it was wrong to attribute that to his cultural background,” explained the former driver ».
« I think we need to do more »
Asked to react to this controversy, Lewis Hamilton states that these remarks are totally unacceptable. While we say that there is no place for any type of discrimination in this sport, for leaders and people in his position to make comments like this is not good for us, nor for moving forward.
« I don’t know what was said beyond that, it’s something to ask Checo, but I think it’s not something you just apologize for and everything is fine. I think more needs to be done. »
On his side, Sergio Perez assures that he has received apologies, privately, from Helmut Marko. « The most important thing is for us to focus on this weekend and on the on-track performance. Obviously, the personal apologies were more important than anything else, » confided the Mexican.
