Formula One has tried to distance itself from the statements of its former CEO Bernie Ecclestone, who said he would “grab a bullet” by Russian President Vladimir Putin and described him as “a first-class person.”
Ecclestone, who has reportedly been a friend of Putin since the introduction of the Russian Grand Prix in 2014, said the Russian invasion of Ukraine could have been avoided if the latter’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, had done more. .
When asked by ITV’s Good Morning Britain if he still considered Putin a friend, the 91-year-old billionaire said, “I’d still give him a bullet. I’d rather he didn’t hurt me, but if he did, I’d still get a bullet, because he’s a first-rate person. What he’s doing is something he thought was the right thing he was doing for Russia. “
After his appearance, a Formula 1 spokesman said: “The comments made by Bernie Ecclestone are his personal views and are in stark contrast to the position of the modern values of our sport.”
Ecclestone, who in 2020 announced the birth of his fourth child, with his wife, Fabiana Flosi, 45, is no stranger to controversial statements.
In a 2009 Times interview, he seemed to praise Adolf Hitler: “I guess it’s terrible to say that, but apart from the fact that Hitler took him away and persuaded him to do things I have no idea whether he wanted to do it or not, he was able to do things, the way he could command a lot of people.
He continued to criticize Zelenskiy, to the disbelief of Good Morning Britain presenter Kate Garraway, who asked, “So to understand that clearly, you think President Zelenskiy should have done more to prevent this war and could Zelenskiy’s actions have been avoided, not by a change in Putin’s actions?
Ecclestone replied, “Absolutely.”
He said the war in Ukraine was not “intentional”, adding: “And I am sure that Ukraine, if it had wanted to get out of it properly, would have done so.”
When asked if he has had a chance to talk to Putin about “what a disaster” the situation is or urged him to rethink what he is doing, Ecclestone said, “No. Surely he himself has thought so. He probably doesn’t need to. I’m absolutely sure I wish I hadn’t started this whole business now, though [it] it didn’t start as a war. “