Helmut Marko has reacted to Sergio Perez's staggering criticism towards Red Bull, with the Austrian admitting he found the comments "surprising".
Perez joined Red Bull ahead of the 2021 season to replace Alex Albon, following the Mexican driver being left without a seat after Force India did not renew his contract.
Red Bull saved Perez's F1 career, with the pair having spent four eventful years together. Perez claimed five wins for the Milton Keynes-based outfit, although he never consistently matched Max Verstappen.
In the end, Perez's form spiralled out of control, leading to his exit at the end of 2024. It resulted in a one-year sabbatical from F1, with him to rejoin this year with new outfit Cadillac.
There is clearly no love lost for Perez towards Red Bull, who fired a series of comments against the team in a recent podcast appearance.
"At Red Bull, everything was a problem," Perez said on the Cracks podcast. "If I was very fast, it was a problem, because then there was a very tense atmosphere within Red Bull.
"If I was faster than Max, it was a problem. If I was slower than Max, it was a problem. So everything was a problem. I also learned a lot from that: 'OK, these are the circumstances I'm in'."
Marko's reaction
Perez was very much a number two driver while at Red Bull and played a major part in McLaren beating the outfit to the 2024 constructors' title.
It was a mixed four years for the 35-year-old, although Marko raised the argument that without Red Bull, Perez's career was done.
Asked for his thoughts on Perez's comments, Marko told ORF: "It is somewhat surprising, because we should not forget that Checo Pérez did not have a contract. He was fired from the racing team he practically kept alive.
"I don't know exactly how many Grand Prix races he won, but especially in 2022 he was in the race for the world championship for a while.
"That he eventually stopped performing had several reasons, but overall I think Checo made his career with us.
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