Mexican F1 driver Sergio Perez has dumped one of his sponsors, which mocked his country in the wake of Donald Trump's election as the next United States president.
Sunglasses brand Hawkers made reference to Trump's pledge to build a wall between America and Mexico.
The company, which will now have to halt production of 20,000 pairs of sunglasses with Perez's name on, has clarified that the message was meant in jest.
They had tweeted: "Mexicans, put on these sunglasses so that no-one notices your crying eyes tomorrow when you're building the wall."
That tweet has since been deleted and a follow up video tweet has acknowledged a "grave error" was made by the company.
Hemos cometido un grave error. Hoy CM significa Cagada Máxima. No volverá a ocurrir #losentimosdecorazonMexico pic.twitter.com/qEKOLf58ly
— HAWKERS MX (@HawkersMX) November 10, 2016
But in a tweet of his own in response to Hawkers' one, Perez was clear about his feelings.
Que mal comentario, Hoy mismo acabo mi relación con @HawkersMX .Nunca voy a dejar que nadie se burle de mi País! #MexicoUnido
— Sergio Pérez (@SChecoPerez) November 9, 2016
He wrote: "What terrible remarks. From today, I will cut ties with HawkerMX. I will never let anyone make a mockery of my country."
The 26-year-old Force India driver has been in Formula 1 since the start of the 2011 season and although he has yet to taste victory, he has had seven podium finishes to his name.
After two seasons at Sauber in 2011 and 2012, Perez spent a season at McLaren before spending the past three championships with Force India.
This season, he managed third place finishes at the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix and the European Grand Prix in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The Guadalajara native finished 10th in the most recent Grand Prix at his home race in Mexico, thereby gaining a championship point which puts him in an impressive 7th place overall in the standings with 85 points.
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