Ralf Schumacher issues statement after Sergio Perez's father's seemingly homophobic remarks against him
Ralf Schumacher decided to address Sergio Perez's father, Antonio Perez Garibay's homophobic remarks towards him. Perez Garibay recently took a stand for his son, who is going through a rough phase in Formula 1. While he was at it, Perez Garibay condemned his son's critic, Schumacher, by resorting to the German former driver's sexuality.
Schumacher, a former F1 driver and winner of six Grand Prix races, came out as homosexual recently. He admitted this in public, to which he received a mixed reaction. The German national, a pundit with the German media for F1, is often very straightforward with his criticisms.
In one such incident, he spoke about Sergio Perez's poor form and how the Mexican driver's F1 chance at Red Bull could come to an end. However, this did not happen as Perez raced in Mexico. Although many have forgotten about the criticism, Perez Garibay did not.
As a result, Perez's father recently called Ralf Schumacher out and slammed him over it. He not only condemned his call but also took a dig at his sexuality. Schumacher, addressing the dig, did not go hard at Perez Garibay.
The German former driver stated that he understood the Mexican driver's father's motive. As a father, one would do anything to support their son, and Perez Garibay did the same. However, he could have had a different approach.
“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.”
Ralf Schumacher was married to Cora Brinkmann from 2001 to 2015. They have a son together — David Schumacher, who is also a racing driver. Currently, Ralf Schumacher is in a same-sex relationship.
What did Sergio Perez's father say about Ralf Schumacher?
Following his son Sergio Perez's criticism, Antonio Perez Garibay took a jibe at Ralf Schumacher's sexuality. Here's what 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.”
“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.”
Notably, Cora Brinkmann, Ralf Schumacher's former wife, has publicly shamed the latter on multiple occasions after he came out as homosexual. She claimed that her ex-husband had "used her" and "robbed" her of her best years.