Ecclestone, who has a close friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, told Russian state media that he would still support Russia’s continued involvement in Formula One despite potential sanctions.
F1 issued a statement after its former CEO, called Putin “sensible” and “a first-class person”, and said he was doing the right thing for Russia. “Bernie Ecclestone saying he would “take a bullet” for Vladimir Putin is not aligned with the “modern values” of Formula One, said a spokesman for the motoring body.”
In an interview with ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Bernie Ecclestone said he: “definitely deserves a break” from bad publicity and argued that sometimes it is necessary to resort to deceit.
Referring to the Ukrainian president Ecclestone stated that the other person in Ukraine, who used to be a comedian, is trying to continue this career as well.
“If he’d thought about things, he would definitely have made a big enough effort to speak to Putin, who is a sensible person and could’ve probably done something about it.”
When it was pointed out that Russia invaded Ukraine and killed thousands of innocent people, Mr Ecclestone simply replied – “No, it wasn’t intentional.”
When asked if he thought Mr Zelenskyy could have done more to avert war and stop Putin, the motoring magnate said “Absolutely.”
“I’m quite sure that Ukraine, if they wanted to escape it properly, could have done” he said.
It’s been months since Russia invaded Ukraine but Bernie Ecclestone says he hasn’t spoken to his “good friend Vladimir Putin”.
However, he said; “I’m absolutely sure he now wishes he hadn’t started this whole business – but it didn’t start as a war.”
Speaking out, he also criticized the ban of Russian athletes in response to Moscow’s military intervention
“The Russian Grand Prix should not be removed from the F1 calendar and banning Russian drivers made it happen,” said Bernie Ecclestone. “I’m not in a position for anything to happen now.”
As a result of this incident, “I think it is wrong, and I wouldn’t stop Russian athletes from taking part in their sport.” In light of this new information, I would never censor my Facebook posts again.
“They didn’t get involved in this in the first place. They shouldn’t be punished.”
In the year 2017, Mr Ecclestone stepped down as CEO of Formula 1.
Formula One’s number one man said: “Bernie Ecclestone’s comments about the rise of Islam in Europe are his personal views and are in stark contrast to the modern values of our sport. Despite countless efforts from thousands of people over decades, still, these types of comments remain very influential within a context that is otherwise so open-minded.”
Another Formula One spokesman said: “Bernie Ecclestone’s comments about Islam need to be read relative to the modern values today.”