F1 News: Helmut Marko Addresses "Racist" Sergio Perez Comments After Monumental Backlash

Helmut Marko has addressed his comments made earlier in the week.

Red Bull motorsport advisor Dr Helmut Marko has addressed the comments he made earlier in the week about Sergio Perez which have received a huge amount of backlash for being "racist and xenophobic".

Marko was comparing the difference in mentality between two-time F1 champion Max Verstappen and his teammate Perez. This comes as the Austrian team has dominated the 2023 season winning every race so far, with Verstappen taking twelve of those victories and Perez winning the remaining two.

Whilst speaking to Servus TV, Marko commented that he believes the reason Perez isn't as focussed as Verstappen is because he is "South American". He said:

“Let’s remember that he is South American, and so he is not as focused as Max Verstappen or Sebastian Vettel was.

“But racing is his forte, and he had a very good race. Overtaking three drivers, in George Russell and the Ferraris, was not easy.”

It's safe to say the comments were not well-received with many calling Marko out for the "racist" comments, including the Red Bull fan run account RBR Daily who posted to X:

"STATEMENT: As the admin of RBR Daily, we strongly condemn Helmut Marko's recent racist and xenophobic statements about Checo.

"Such comments will not be tolerated. A racial stereotype was used to criticise his performance which is absolutely disgraceful and inexcusable.

"We firmly oppose all forms of discrimination, and racism and xenophobia have no place in our community."

🚨 STATEMENT: As the admin of RBR Daily, we strongly condemn Helmut Marko's recent racist and xenophobic statements about Checo

Such comments will not be tolerated. A racial stereotype was used to criticise his performance which is absolutely disgraceful and inexcusable.

We…

— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) September 6, 2023

Up to this point, there has been no formal comment from Red Bull but Marko has now addressed the backlash to oe24. He explained:

“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 [the mentality] controlled.”