The FIA has officially warned Helmut Marko following comments he made regarding the ethnicity of Sergio Perez.

"We can confirm that Helmut Marko has received a written warning and been reminded of his responsibilities as a public figure in motor sport in line with the FIA Code of Ethics," an FIA spokesman told the media at the Singapore Grand Prix.

The Austrian had on two occasions suggested that the driver's 'erratic' form was due to his nationality, incorrectly suggesting that Mexico is in South America.

Though he apologised for the comment both privately to Perez and also publically there was pressure on the FIA to act, not least after Lewis Hamilton described Marko's comments as "unacceptable".

"There are a lot of people in the background that really are trying to combat these sorts of things but it's hard to manoeuvre if there are people in the top that have those sort of mind-sets, that just stop us from progressing," said the Mercedes driver.

"I don't know what was said beyond, that's something to ask Checo," he added, "but I think this is not something that you just apologise for and it's all ok. I think there needs to be more done.

"Teams, when they've had individuals, particularly drivers, make comments but also some individuals in the background, they usually are removed or at least they put out a quote and say they don't support that sort of thing. So it is interesting that they haven't done so for this one, but it's not my team and it's not how we move as a team.

"It just shows how important it is that we continue to do the work. The work that I'm trying to do with my team and with the sport. We still have a lot of work to do moving forward to make sure that this is a more inclusive environment."

For his part, Perez has sought to play the whole thing down.

"I know he doesn't mean it that way," said the Mexican. "I didn't get offended at all, personally.

"Let's say those comments were on a different perspective or so on, I would have taken them differently. To me, it's just how things are, and I didn't take them personally."

"Those comments weren't right," team boss Christian Horner admitted to Sky Sports. "Helmut quickly recognised that and apologised for that both publicly and directly to Sergio.

"You are always learning in life even at 80 years of age," he added. "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."

However, when asked why Red Bull itself hadn't taken action, especially in light of the way in which Estonian racer Juri Vips was suspended and then dropped by the Red Bull Junior Team following comments he had made during a Twitch livestream, Horner insisted: "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 wider group, and the group obviously issued that apology through the ServusTV channel.

"Helmut is technically an employee directly of, or a consultant to the group," he added, "so it's not really a question for me to answer."

However, a cursory search of Companies House in the UK shows Dr Helmut Marko to be one of two directors of Red Bull Racing Limited, the other being Horner.

"We've obviously spoken about it," said Horner of Marko's comments. "I know he regrets what he said, he's apologised. Even at 80 years of age, you can, it's still not too late to learn."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Ricardo_sanchez, 18/09/2023 21:54

"There are some obvious distinctions between Horner’s comments and those made by Marko:

- Intent: Horner’s comments about Marko’s age were clearly not meant to belittle or discriminate, whereas Marko’s comments about Perez were derogatory.

- Content: Horner spoke about Marko’s age in the context of learning, without attributing negative traits to his age group. Marko’s comments attributed a negative trait to Perez based on nationality.

- Impact: Horner’s age comments are unlikely to perpetuate systemic discrimination against elderly people, while Marko’s comments about Perez may perpetuate harmful stereotypes about Mexicans and/or South Americans.

This information comes to you courtesy of the Committee members of the Woke Agenda for NWO (WANWO). :-)"

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2. Posted by kenji, 17/09/2023 0:46

"'Even at 80 years of age'!!! How dare he? Based on that number, he's getting into my territory.! I am outraged, offended and feel that my very being has been seriously violated at the 'ageist' innuendo implied by Horner's comments. Collectively, my age group, have been singled out for stereotyping and it hurts. I would suggest that Horner be ceremoniously stripped of his position and drummed out of F1 for allegations based purely on nothing more than a set of 'defining numbers' by a representative group of septuagenarians armed with nothing more than hard cover copies of the 'Woke Agenda for New World Order. Enjoy the race....."

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Marko given official warning by FIA

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