Red Bull Motorsport Advisor Dr Helmut Marko has formally apologised over offensive remarks about Sergio Perez's ethnicity. Marko spoke earlier this week on the Red Bull-owned Servus TV, incorrectly describing Perez as "South American" with Mexico being part of North America. Marko then appeared to suggest that Perez's ethnicity was why he had a lack of focus compared to Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, the two drivers to have won the F1 World Championship for Red Bull and who are from Germany and the Netherlands, respectively. An attempt by Marko to explain away the comments was poorly received as he did not apologise for the comments, but the advisor, whom Red Bull Racing itself does not have any control over has now issued a formal apology to Perez. "Concerning my remark about Sergio Perez, ServusTV Sport and Talk, Monday September 4: I would like to apologise for my offensive remark and want to make it absolutely clear that I do not believe that we can generalise about the people from any country, any race, any ethnicity," Marko said. "I was trying to make a point that Checo has fluctuated in his performance this year, but it was wrong to attribute this to his cultural heritage." Marko has been critical of Perez's up and down form throughout the season, but the six-time Grand Prix winner has taken three podiums in the last four races, as of the Italian Grand Prix.
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