Lewis Hamilton mentioned he was not stunned to learn Helmut Marko’s offensive feedback about Sergio Perez, suggesting different groups would have come down tougher on the Austrian as punishment.

After the Italian Grand Prix Marko, Purple Bull’s motorsport marketing consultant, mentioned Perez’s ethnicity was guilty for his poor kind this 12 months.

“We all know that he has issues in qualifying, he has fluctuations in kind,” Marko mentioned. “He’s South American and he’s simply not as fully centered in his head as Max [Verstappen] is or as Sebastian [Vettel].”

The feedback brought about an enormous stir on social media and Marko was pressured to subject a public apology, whereas he additionally mentioned sorry to Perez in non-public.

Hamilton, F1’s solely Black driver, mentioned it exhibits how far the championship nonetheless has to come back in tackling discrimination.

“It is fully unacceptable what he mentioned,” Hamilton informed Sky Sports activities.

“While we are saying there isn’t any room for any kind of discrimination inside this sport which there needs to be – no room for it – to have leaders and folks in his place making feedback like this isn’t good for us transferring forwards.

“I believe it simply highlights, firstly, the work that also must be carried out. There are lots of people within the background that actually are attempting to fight these types of issues however it’s onerous to manoeuvre if there are folks within the high which have these kind of mindsets, that simply cease us from progressing. Not stunned, to be sincere.”

The feedback positioned enormous strain on the Purple Bull workforce to subject an announcement condemning Marko, however the Austrian will not be formally employed by the corporate.

Nonetheless, he is without doubt one of the folks most carefully related to the Components One workforce and model.

Marko’s apology assertion was put out on Purple Bull-owned TV channel Servus, however the F1 workforce didn’t put out something of its personal.

On the apology, Hamilton mentioned: “I do not know what was mentioned past, that is one thing to ask Checo, however I believe this isn’t one thing that you simply simply apologise [for] and it is all okay. I believe there must be extra carried out.

“Groups, once they’ve had people, notably drivers, make feedback however [also] some people within the background – they often are eliminated or a minimum of they put out a quote and say they do not help that kind of factor. So it’s attention-grabbing that they have not carried out so for this one, however it’s not my workforce and it is not how we transfer as a workforce.

“It simply exhibits how vital it’s that we proceed to do the work. The work that I am making an attempt to do with my workforce and with the game. We nonetheless have a number of work to do transferring ahead to guarantee that it is a extra inclusive surroundings.”