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“Fire Helmut”: Taskmaster Marko’s Public Trial for Sins Against Perez Overshadows Vettel’s F1 Return

Published Sep 9, 2023 | 8:45 AM EDT

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Yin and Yang, Dark and Bright, and several other concepts or phrases display the duality in life. The pendulum swings one way to eventually land up in the opposite till the inevitable balance is achieved. This is the same state that Red Bull has found themselves in. Sebastian Vettel, the now-retired driver who won 4 World Championships with them, and is on the verge of his joyous return to F1 has been overthrown by the desolate clouds that Helmut Marko spewed with his sinful words towards Sergio Perez.

Perez has been performing rather inconsistently in the RB19 this year. He has been miles behind his teammate, Max Verstappen. At the Italian GP, the Mexican racer yet again messed up in Qualifying but made up on Sunday with a well-fought P2 finish. Nevertheless, Red Bull taskmaster Marko made a controversial comment about him, saying “He is South American and he is just not as completely focused in his head as Max (Verstappen) is or as Sebastian (Vettel).” Even though he has issued an apology now, the ugliness produced in the aftermath of this has spread onto Vettel’s much-deserved moment in the limelight.

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The German racer returned after 9 years to Red Bull and his championship-winning RB7 for a show run. Capturing the heartwarming moment, the Milton-Keynes outfit posted a tributary video on Instagram, captioned: “Sebastian Vettel… reunited with his World Championship winning RB7 for this first time since 2014. This weekend at the Nürburgring.” There were only a handful of fans with cheerful comments who were dreading to see him in a racecar again. For the others, the comment section served as a complaint box for voicing their displeasure with Marko’s distasteful statements.

Fans call for a different Sebastian Vettel return amid Helmut Marko’s allegedly discriminatory comments toward Sergio Perez

Sebastian Vettel is one of the best drivers to race in Formula 1 ever. When he announced retirement in 2022, the entire world of F1, rivals included, was shocked. But such is life. A year later, when Red Bull announced his return with them at his home turf in Nurburgring, Germany, fate was against him. His return has been overshadowed by Marko’s controversy. More than being happy about his return, fans urged the team to take accountability for their Team Advisor’s destructive words towards Sergio Perez.

“Fire Helmut”

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“Helmut Marko: that’s because he’s not South American 💀”

“Nice!!! But #Helmutout

“Now that looks like a great future advisor/head of driver development program to me. You know, if RB ever decides to do anything about the atrocities being said recently”

“JUSTICE FOR CHECO!!! Right now gotdamit!!!”

“Oh hey, a person to replace helmut”

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The social media has been buzzing against Marko & Red Bull, asking the Austrian team to cut ties with their motorsport advisor. There had been multiple reports earlier this year on how Vettel could come into RBR in a management role. Fans push on the same sentiment amid the current controversy against Helmut.

“Marko out! Vettel in!”

“HELMUT MARKO’S APOLOGIES MEANS NOTHING 👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽”

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It is disheartening to see that a legendary F1 driver, for no fault of his own has landed in the middle of a controversy. Yet, the circumstances have been such that fans have felt the strong need to correct a social evil.

WATCH THIS STORY | Lando Norris Challenges Max Verstappen Amid Helmut Markos Recruitment Effort

Written by:

Yash Kotak

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Yash is an F1 writer at EssentiallySports. With a strong passion for communicating through written word and a keen interest in the world of motorsports, he thoroughly enjoys being a fan of F1 and covering it for other fans. Ever since he watched the 'INSIDE TRACKS' episode covering the 2018 German Grand Prix, he has fallen in love with the intriguingly complex world of F1.
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Edited by:

Aishwary Gaonkar