Lewis Hamilton laments 'unacceptable' Red Bull chief comments as Sergio Perez row leaves Mercedes star wanting more done

Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton has criticsed Red Bull chief Helmut Marko's comments about fellow driver Sergio Perez saying that 'more needs to be done' to tackle discrimination in the F1 industry.

Marko, 80, previously claimed that the reason Red Bull driver Perez is inconsistent all falls down to his ethnicity, before apologising for the remarks towards the Mexican driver. And, despite eight of his thirteen races ending in a podium finish, Perez was targeted by Marko - which has left an acrid taste in the mouths of many. Perez had revealed the Red Bull chief apoligised to him privately after also making a public admission on his comments.

Now Hamilton is the latest to air his disappointment at the comments, and revealed he is saddened by the fact that more needs to be done in the sport to eradicate any fears of a non-inclusive environment. He told Sky Sports: "While we say there is no room for any type of discrimination within this sport - and there should be no room for it - to have leaders and people in his position making comments like this is not good for us moving forwards.

"It just shows how important it is that we continue to do the work that I'm trying to do with my team and with the sport. We still have a lot of work to do moving forward to make sure that this is a more inclusive environment."

He added: "I think there needs to be more done. There are a lot of people in the background that really are trying to combat these sorts of things but it's hard to manoeuvre if there are people in the top that have those sort of mindsets that just stop us from progressing."

Perez said: "Basically, we move on. I have a personal relationship with him. Obviously, those comments, when you read them in isolation, can be very