Danica Patrick says F1 should’ve swiftly punished Helmut Marko over xenophobic remarks, just like NASCAR penalized champion Kyle Larson
Danica Patrick wants F1 to follow the NASCAR model in punishing personnel over sensitive issues such as racism.
Follow Us
Kyel Larson, Helmut Marko and Danica Patrick (Via IMAGO)
Danica Patrick said that she is surprised by the lack of desire from Formula One to sanction Red Bull’s Chief advisor, Helmut Marko, over Xenophobic remarks made about his Mexican driver, Sergio Perez. The Austrian attributed the lack of focus from the driver to his ethnicity and later apologized publicly and personally following backlash.
The former IndyCar and NASCAR star, while talking to Sky Sports, pointed out that the premier open-wheel championship should learn from its stock car racing counterparts about taking swift action against personals around the sport making insensitive comments. She explained how both Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup champion, and Noah Gragson lost their seat and sponsors and were suspended over controversial actions.
“Obviously, this happened over a week ago, but it’s taken a long time to get any kind of answers and a statement. I think, number one in the media, you’ve got to really stay ahead of things as much as you can, and I don’t think that’s really been the case. But there are consequences and obviously, you know, in my friend Kyle Larson’s situation or Noah Gragson – they were penalized,” Danica Patrick said, as reported by Planet F1.
“They were suspended and Kyle lost his ride. He lost his sponsor, lost his ride. So, there are penalties and they’ve obviously laid the line in the sand exactly where that’s at in the series. I think that there’s just yet to be the desire from F1 to put that line in the sand where that’s at,” She added.
Marko was given a written warning by the FIA. But despite the backlash, F1 and Red Bull haven’t released a statement on the issue, though Marko is one of the most influential spokespeople of the sport.
In case you missed it: Ryan Blaney wants NASCAR to penalize driver for laying back on restarts after ‘ridiculous’ Kansas drama
Why NASCAR drivers Kyle Larson and Noah Gragson were suspended?
Kyle Larson was one of the most promising talents in NASCAR when he found himself in hot water over saying the N-word during a live i-Racing event. The issue happened in 2020, and he lost his ride with Chip Ganassi Racing and was suspended for the whole season.
He was reinstated to the sport after competing in sensitivity training and went on to win the title in the year he returned to the sport with top-team Hendrick Motorsports. Sensitivity training is one of the primary sanctions NASCAR gives to drivers to help them resolve the issues.
Noah Gragson was suspended recently over liking an insensitive Instagram meme. He was put under indefinite suspension and subsequently parted ways with his team. The sport reinstated him after completing his sensitivity training this week, and he is planning to work his way to the top.
Discover:
Stay Updated!
Justin P Joy
(5010 Articles Published)