Red Bull Motorsport Consultant Dr. Helmut Marko is infamous for making some controversial remarks in F1. The 81-year-old faced backlash in 2023 for his polarizing comments on then-Red Bull driver Sergio Perez. Now, former Red Bull driver Jaime Alguersuari has hit out at Marko.

In 2023, Sergio Perez was struggling to match Max Verstappen during the latter’s historic F1 campaign. Helmut Marko had given an offensive remark over Checo, claiming that he was not as focused as Verstappen because of his “South American” roots. It must be noted that Perez is from Mexico, a country in Central America. Though, the 81-year-old did apologize after receiving backlash.

Alguersuari made it clear that Marko’s comments were simply unacceptable. The former F1 driver labeled the comments to be ‘barbaic’ towards all Latin American drivers. Jaime Alguersuari asserted that such remarks should not only be frowned upon, but should be banned entirely from the sport.

Helmut Marko ‘dented’ Formula 1’s image

F1 has a massive fanbase in Latin America, courtesy of Sergio Perez. Albeit the Mexican driver will not be on the grid this year. Alguersuari emphasized that Helmut Marko’s comments were detrimental to Formula 1’s image worldwide. He highlighted that there is a need to censor and punish anyone who makes such statements.

I really think it should be punished and censured, it leaves a dent in the image of Formula 1. If we compare the image to golf, for example, there is always respect there.

Jaime Alguersauri stated

Helmut Marko was issued a warning from the FIA following the comments. Since then, the 81-year-old has avoided making blatantly offensive remarks over a driver’s nationality. As such, it seems that the Red Bull advisor learnt his lesson and acknowledged that he should not say something like that again.