The sunglasses company dropped by Sergio Perez for making a joke about U.S. president-elect Donald Trump and Mexico has set up a children's charity in a bid to make amends.
The Hawkers brand was dropped by the Force India driver after it made an off-colour joke about Mexicans using their glasses to hide their "crying eyes" as they built a wall on the U.S. border, a reference to one of Trump's controversial election pledges. Perez, one of two Mexican drivers on the Formula One grid, immediately tweeted that he was ending his short-lived affiliation with the company.
Hawkers, which had been in the process of making 20,000 limited edition Perez sunglasses, has taken out a full-page advert in the El Universal newspaper and pledging $25,000 (USD) to a new charity, Dear Sergio x Hawkers Foundation, for poor children.
"Dear Sergio, sometimes we have accidents," the advert said. "You, more than anybody else, knows this. Although we don't expect this accident to be forgotten, we will do everything possible to make sure that it doesn't happen again.
"We will continue to be with you, with the people of Mexico and with all those who oppose discrimination and racism in the world."
The advert also blamed a community manger for the Trump gaffe.