The British driver, Lewis Hamilton, did not miss the opportunity to testify against the hurtful, xenophobic and geographically erroneous phrase of Red Bull’s main advisor Helmut Marko about the Mexican Sergio Checo Pérez.
“He is South American and cannot concentrate as much as Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel” said Marko who leads the team’s youth development program.
Marko apologized in a cold statement and Checo assured that he considered the issue settled, but the seven-time champion did not let his words go.
“What he said is completely unacceptable.”Hamilton fired on Marko, who, in addition to his inappropriate comment, showed problems with geography, because Mexico is in North America.
The Englishman from Mercedes, known for being a strong promoter of equality and has made several calls even wearing allusive t-shirts on the podiums, added in the interview with the Sky Sports network: “Although we say that there is no place for any type of discrimination in this sport, that there should not be, having leaders and people in their position making comments like that is not good for us going forward.. I think it highlights, first of all, the work that remains to be done. There are a lot of people in the background who are really trying to combat this type of thing, but it is difficult to maneuver if there are people at the top who have that type of mentality, which prevents us from progressing.
“Teams, when they have had individuals, particularly drivers, who have made comments, but also some lower-ranking individuals, usually they are removed or at least make a statement and say that they do not support that type of thing. So it’s interesting that they haven’t done it in this case, but it’s not my team and it’s not how we move as a team,” was Hamilton’s lapidary comment.
Fight against racism
Hamilton insisted on continuing to campaign, such as ‘Race As One’, to eliminate racism and discrimination.
“It just shows how important it is that we keep doing the job, like I’m trying to do with my team and with the sport.”.
But, “We still have a lot of work to do in the future to make sure this is a more inclusive environment.”
Following Helmut Marko’s apology to Checo Pérez, who accepted them and revealed that he was not offended, Red Bull Racing has told Sky Sports News that they do not approve of his comments and will emphasize that there is no place for racism or xenophobia in F1 or in society in general.
Keep reading:
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko accused of discrimination against “Checo” Pérez: “He is South American and that is why his head is not so focused”
Helmut Marko apologized for his racist comments to Checo Pérez: “I didn’t mean that”
Checo Pérez ratified as a Red Bull driver in 2024 after unleashing all his anger against his team
