Lewis Hamilton is the first and to date the only, black driver to race in Formula 1. His rise to the top was filled with racism which was well documented. Therefore, when Helmut Marko racially profiled Sergio Perez, it was obvious he would’ve had some stern opinions. The 7-World Champion called out both Helmut Marko for his comments, and Red Bull for their lack of action.
“People in the top…stop us from progressing”
Lewis Hamilton has launched several programs to tackle racism in Formula 1. Sergio Perez has also spoken about the anti-Mexican sentiment prevalent in European Motorsport. Therefore, when a senior figure like Helmut Marko from a prominent team like Red Bull makes these remarks, it sets everything back.
Lewis Hamilton said, “I think it just highlights, firstly, the work that still needs to be done. 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 mindsets, that just stop us from progressing.”
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Lack of Action from Red Bull
Lewis Hamilton also pointed out the lack of action from Red Bull on this grave matter.
He said, “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.”
Just last year, Red Bull ousted Juri Vips from their academy for using a racial slur during a livestream. However, Helmut Marko is much more important to the organization and therefore, this hesitation is palpable.
The nuance here is that Helmut Marko is an employee of the Red Bull company, not the Formula 1 team. Therefore, the racing team tries to distance itself from these comments. But this is a very weak argument as the technicality doesn’t define just how crucial he is to the team.
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Lewis Hamilton remarked how Red Bull is not his team at the end of the day. He doesn’t know what else was said to Sergio Perez but remarks his team wouldn’t have handled the situation like this.
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