Sergio Perez distances himself from his father's objectionable remarks about Ralf Schumacher

Sergio Perez has distanced himself from the objectionable remarks made by his father, Antonio Perez Garibay, about Ralf Schumacher. In Perez's father's recent interview with ESPN, he heavily criticized the F1 pundits that claimed the Mexican driver was about to be fired at several situations in the season.

Sky Sports Germany pundit Ralf was also one of the many who had claimed that Perez might be dropped by Red Bull. Since the German had also been in the news this season for coming out of the closet, the rant from Antonio saw him mocking that as well.

On the eve of the F1 Las Vegas GP, Sergio Perez was questioned about the same by the media and the Mexican distanced himself from those comments. He told Sky Sports:

“First of all, I don't agree with any of his comments. I think he did a mistake in that regard. I don't share any of his views but at the same time I don't control what my father has to say, I can only control what I say.”

Ralf Schumacher had reacted to the comments made by Perez's father as well on Instagram. He'd said:

“I would also stand behind my son 100 per cent and try to help. That’s what you do as a father,” he wrote in a post on Instagram. "As for the style, I would be different but we know Mr. Perez with all his emotions,” Schumacher continued. "That’s why I’m not angry with him. However, I believe that results on the track would be the better argument.”

What had Sergio Perez's father said?

In the interview with ESPN, Sergio Perez's father did not mention Ralf Schumacher by name but indirectly referred to him as a former F1 driver turned journalist. The Mexican said that F1 journalists, who make claims, need to apologize to Checo.

Going on a rant with some questionable remarks, he said:

“There’s a driver who was a Formula 1 driver, [turned] journalist. He first stated that Checo [Perez] was already out of Red Bull. The following week, he [Schumacher] came out of the closet.”

Antonio added:

“I don’t know if he was in love with Checo. Do you understand it? There are many strange things. You no longer know if he is a journalist, a woman, a gentleman. But his opinion doesn’t matter, not because of Checo Perez, but because of what his [ex-]wife said about him.”

Sergio Perez's father has been an omnipresent figure in the sport for a while now. He's often seen mingling with everyone in the paddock and being very pleasant in his demeanor. Such a comment is however something that's probably not something anyone in F1 would want to be associated with.