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Helmut Marko incorrectly referred to Method 1 driver Sergio Perez as “South American” when discussing his latest struggles.
Because the first few races of the 2023 Method 1 season, Crimson Bull’s Sergio Perez has struggled and largely did not sustain with the tempo of teammate and two-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen, whose 10 straight victories set a brand new all-time report.
Perez opened up the 12 months with two wins in 4 races, however his finest finishes within the 10 races since then are a trio of runner-up outcomes, leaving him properly out of the factors lead with eight races remaining on the 22-race schedule.
There have been rumors concerning the 33-year-old being launched by Crimson Bull after the 2023 season, regardless that he signed a deal final spring to stay with the workforce via 2024, and Crimson Bull advisor Helmut Marko has provided his trustworthy criticism of Perez on a couple of event.
Sadly, Marko lately cited Perez’s cultural heritage as an obvious motive for his struggles all through the 2023 Method 1 season.
“We all know that he has issues in qualifying, he has fluctuations in kind. He’s South American, and he’s simply not as utterly targeted in his head as Max [Verstappen] is or as Sebastian [Vettel].”
Naturally, Marko’s determination to make this reference and use it in a method that made it seem to be it’s a part of the explanation for Perez’s struggles drew criticism.
However what’s much more weird concerning the offensive comment is that Perez isn’t even South American. Mexico is geographically situated in North America, and he’s from Guadalajara. The whole nation is situated within the Northern Hemisphere, north of the equator.
As for the assertion itself, Marko did apologize, and Perez accepted his apology. Perez even admitted that he was by no means offended by the comment, as not like everyone who instantly took to social media to accuse Marko of being “racist”, Perez has a private relationship with Marko and is aware of his intention was to not diss his ethnicity.
That mentioned, he additionally understood that the remark may very well be perceived by South Individuals (or Mexicans — or any North Individuals) as offensive, given its floor look as a culturally disparaging comment.
As for Perez’s future with Crimson Bull, there’s actually no motive for the workforce to launch him early. He’s nonetheless the one race winner except for Verstappen this 12 months, and he’s nonetheless as excessive as he can probably be within the standings with out being forward of teammate, opening up the potential for Crimson Bull’s first ever 1-2 end on the earth championship.
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