"I felt that way throughout my career"- Sergio Perez on Latin drivers receiving 'a bit more criticism' than other F1 drivers

Sergio Perez revealed that he has been a victim of a bit more criticism than other Formula 1 drivers going through the same patch. The Red Bull driver talked about the same when he won the 2022 F1 Singapore GP.

Subsequently, the Mexican sat down with The Race for an interview where he revealed that he felt the Latin drivers do get criticized a bit more than others. He said:

“Whenever you have a bad race or a little bit of a bad patch, as any other driver, sometimes with the Latin drivers you can hear a bit more criticism. When there’s only been a few races, you know? It’s not like the year has gone [badly] – you see it with other drivers, that they have similar issues, and it’s hardly being talked about. So, sometimes I feel that way. I felt that way throughout my career."

Sergio Perez further elaborated that he stood by what he had said in that interview. The driver has faced quite a lot of criticism from the media recently for his form post-summer break. The Mexican only had a podium in Spa to speak of, while his teammate, Max Verstappen, was winning every race comfortably. Perez said:

“I think it was worth pointing it out but at the same time, it’s the beauty of our sport, to have that [back and forth with the media]. Together with the media we are a great sport, and as a sportsman you always get that sort of motivation from here and there. It’s absolutely nothing more than that.”

Sergio Perez further said:

“Sometimes I feel people don’t really understand the situation that I’m in, the team that I’m in, who I’m facing, all of that. But I’m not here for people to give me any credit. I’m here for my own reasons. I just have to get on with it.”

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Sometimes people say ‘well, he’s just a Mexican, he’s lazy: Sergio Perez

Sergio Perez also talked about how sometimes people's perceptions work against him. There are people that feel that because he's Mexican and a Latin American, there is a certain stigma attached to him and his culture. Perez said:

"I just felt like… sometimes you are not taken seriously. Sometimes people say ‘well, he’s just a Mexican, he’s lazy, his culture’ and so on. And it’s like, just because you are Mexican, you are not able to compete with the best people in the world? Sometimes I felt that [attitude towards me], especially in the early years. But on the other hand it’s always nice to prove that anyone can be up there.”

Sergio Perez has had a somewhat successful run at Red Bull. He has picked up three wins in the past two years and many a time when Max Verstappen has had a bad weekend, Sergio Perez has taken on the baton.

It was interesting to see a driver raising a voice and pointing out how he felt targeted by the media. It has to be appreciated that the media platform reached out to him to address his concerns as well.