Sergio Perez claims his mistakes are judged more harshly by the media than George Russell because he is Mexican
Perez indirectly accused the media of treating him differently due to his Mexican ethnicity.
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Sergio Perez and George Russell. (image via IMAGO)
Sergio Perez has had a tough season in 2023 so far. The Mexican driver has not managed to live up to expectations at Red Bull with a string of disappointing results. However, the 33-year-old has now claimed that his errors are judged differently by the media than those of Mercedes’ George Russell. Checo alleged that his nationality was the reason behind this difference.
Perez pointed out the Singapore GP when Russell had crashed on the final lap while battling for second place. The Mexican driver alleged that if he had been the one in place of the Briton, then the media would’ve raised questions about his place on the team. He said, as reported by SilverArrows.net, “He crashed on the last lap fighting for second place, but nobody talked about it. When it happens at Red Bull, there are immediately three hundred media saying you have to be replaced.”
The 33-year-old believed that such disparity does happen in a sport like Formula 1. However, Sergio Perez was convinced that his ethnicity does play a role in a sport that has been historically dominated by Europeans. The Red Bull driver stated, “This kind of thing happens a lot in F1 and that’s how it works in a team environment, but I think it also has a lot of influence that I am Mexican.”
Sergio Perez faced racial comments by his team consultant
The Mexican driver has faced a difficult time in the sport this year as he struggles to match teammate Max Verstappen. However, things got worse after Red Bull consultant Dr. Helmut Marko credited Perez’s deficit to Verstappen to his ethnicity. Although the 80-year-old apologized for his remarks, Sergio Perez tried to move on from this incident.
Checo has continued to try and improve in recent rounds. Unfortunately, the 33-year-old has simply not been at the mark this season. The 33-year-old retired his car twice at the Japanese GP while Max Verstappen went on to take his thirteenth victory. Red Bull won the 2023 Constructors’ World Championship for its sixth F1 teams’ title in history.
Certainly, Sergio Perez will need to step up his performance in the remainder of the 2023 season. The 33-year-old has a contract with Red Bull till the end of 2024. As such, Checo needs to prove his worth to Milton Keynes once again if he truly wants to stay with the team in the future. However, it remains to be seen if Perez can improve his results in the coming weeks.
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Armaan Agarwal
(2341 Articles Published)