Marko has 'learned lessons' after Perez comments

Red Bull’s team principal Christian Horner speaks for the first time about Helmut Marko’s offensive remarks about Sergio Perez; “Those comments weren’t right”; Horner explains why the F1 team themselves did not put out a statement on the matter

Last Updated: 15/09/23 5:24pm

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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says Helmut Marko’s comments about Sergio Perez were ‘not right’ and lessons have been learned.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner says “lessons have been learned” by Helmut Marko in the wake of the Austrian’s comments about Sergio Perez.

Speaking on the matter for the first time to Sky Sports F1 at the Singapore GP, Horner said that Marko “regrets what he said” and that his “comments weren’t right”.

Marko, who is Red Bull’s motorsport advisor, last Friday issued an apology via a Red Bull-owned TV channel in Austria for comments he made about Perez where he attributed the driver’s inconsistent form this season to his ethnicity.

“Those comments weren’t right,” said Horner, Red Bull’s team principal and CEO, to Sky Sports F1.

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“Helmut quickly recognised that and apologised for that both publicly and directly to Sergio. He spoke to Sergio directly about it.

“You are always learning in life even at 80 years of age. Inevitably lessons have been learned. Checo is a massively popular member and important member of our team. I pushed very hard to sign him for the 2021 season.

“We have a huge following around the world and we take that very seriously, very responsibly. The fan following that the team has, Checo has and F1 has, we are very conscious of it. This is his 250th race and we want to focus on that.”

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Sergio Perez, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen reflect on comments made by Red Bull chief Helmut Marko about Perez’s ethnicity.

Why did Red Bull Racing not put out a statement?

While Marko issued his apology via an official Red Bull outlet, there had been questions as to why there had been no public communication on the matter from the company’s F1 team, Red Bull Racing, themselves up to now.

“From Helmut’s perspective he has apologised,” replied Horner.

“He’s not an employee of Red Bull Racing, so in terms of why didn’t we put out a statement, he’s part of the Red Bull Group and the Group issued an apology through the Servus TV channel.”

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Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko issued an apology following comments in which he blamed Perez’s inconsistent form on his ethnicity.

Asked if there would be any further formal internal sanctions taken against the 80-year-old Austrian, Horner replied: “Helmut is technically a consultant to the group so it’s not really a question for me to answer.

“We’ve obviously spoken about it, I know he regrets what he said, he’s apologised and, as I say, even at 80 years of age it’s still not too late to learn.”

And quizzed about the role of the FIA, F1’s governing body, and the sport itself in such matters, Horner said: “There’s a code of conduct, a code of ethics, and a sporting code so that already exists.

“Of course, we have communicated with the FIA and FOM [Formula One Management] throughout the last week, as you can imagine, and that [the question of sanctions] is very much a matter for them, not for the team.”

What have others said about the Marko controversy?

Also speaking on Friday, in the team principals’ press conference, senior figures from other teams were asked for their opinions on what Marko said.

Zak Brown, McLaren: “I think you have to be very careful what you say to anybody. It was not a great comment, you can understand why people were offended by it. I didn’t hear it myself, I’ve only read it. You have to be very respectful of everyone and not make comments that can be viewed inappropriately.”

Guenther Steiner, Haas: “Stereotyping these days doesn’t work anymore, you need to be careful what you say. Sometimes very difficult to do because what you say you don’t mean and then you shouldn’t say it.

“I didn’t hear it as well, because I could understand it in German how it was said, I just read it and the translation maybe sounds different. It is what it is and I think they are dealing with it.”

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Sergio Perez reflects on comments made by Red Bull chief Helmut Marko, claiming an apology has been made.

Toto Wolff, Mercedes: “It’s not only what has been said, but it’s the mindset that you can even come up with these things. That hasn’t got any place in Formula 1, that is not something that should have been said in the past and certainly not now or in the future. We all know we need more diversity in Formula 1 and more inclusion. The teams do their best to create an environment where this is possible and statements like this don’t shine the light on Formula 1 that Formula 1 deserves for all of their activities.”

Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Alfa Romeo: “Formula 1 as a community we need to be respectful. We started a path all together going towards diversity and inclusion and this must be factual. We don’t need just to have a strategy in place, we need to have behaviours that show people how we value this in Formula 1.

“We need to be careful how to comment on things. I’m Italian so I know that sometimes we have been facing the same comments as Italian and I think that everyone must be respected, we are all working hard and we are all trying to prove that we can do a good job here in Formula 1 from drivers to people. We just need to show really inclusion and show that Formula 1 is an open community where everybody can find their place.”

Sky Sports F1’s live Singapore GP schedule

Saturday September 16
10.15am: Singapore GP Practice Three (session starts at 10.30am)
1pm: Singapore GP Qualifying build-up
2pm: Singapore GP Qualifying
3.45pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook

Sunday September 17
11.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Singapore GP build-up
1pm: THE SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX
3pm: Chequered Flag: Singapore GP reaction
4pm: Ted’s Notebook

Next up for the F1 circus are the stunning streets of Singapore under the lights. All sessions from the Singapore GP will be live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW. Cancel anytime

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