14 September 2023 , 07:37
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Red Bull chief Helmut Marko will not explain the controversy surrounding his comments about Sergio Perez - and admitted he will only focus on "sporting matters".
Marko, 80, caused uproar following the Italian Grand Prix when he suggested that Perez's fluctuating form this season has something to do with him being "South American". Perez - who is in fact from Mexico, which is not in South America - is second in the Driver Standings but sits a mammoth 145 points behind leader and teammate Max Verstappen.
Marko later told the newspaper OE24: "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.
"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."
Now, Marko has laid down the law and claimed he will not speak further about the matter ahead of this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix. "If there are questions about that, I won't answer them. I will only talk about sporting matters," Marko told German publication F1-Insider.
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Helmut Marko accepted he had made an "offensive remark" about Red Bull driver Sergio Perez (Getty Images)Marko previously had spoken publicly about his misgivings surrounding Perez and his performances this season, while hinting that the 33-year-old's seat may not be secure for 2024. That is despite Christian Horner backing Perez and claiming he will remain alongside Verstappen next term.
"Checo's situation for next year is clear," Horner stated last month. "He's a Red Bull Racing driver. We have an agreement with him. Irrelevant of agreements, we're pleased with the job that he's doing.
"You saw his drive today, he was unlucky with the pitlane speed limiter [which cost Perez a five-second penalty that dropped him off the podium to fourth]. He's second in the world championship, he's the only driver other than Max to have won a Grands Prix this year. It's easy to beat up on him when the barometer is so high on the other side, but he will be our driver in 2024."