Sergio Perez (MEX) Red Bull Racing w

In a recent interview on Red Bull-owned Servus TV, Marko made reference to Perez’s country of origin – albeit incorrectly as Mexico isn’t in South America – as a reason for his inconsistent form.

He was quoted as saying: “Let’s remember that he is South American, and so he is not as focused as Max Verstappen or Sebastian Vettel was.

“But racing is his forte, and he had a very good race. Overtaking three drivers, in George Russell and the Ferraris, was not easy.”

Marko has now apologised for the aforementioned comment.

The statement read: “I would like to apologise for my offensive remark and want to make it absolutely clear that I do not believe that we can generalise about the people from any country, any race, any ethnicity.

“I was trying to make a point that Checo has fluctuated in his performance this year, but it was wrong to attribute this to his cultural heritage.”

Perez sits 145 points behind teammate Max Verstappen in the F1 championship standings.