Formula 1 and its management condemned the statements of the former first man of that competition, the British Bernie Ecclestone.
He stated during an interview that he would “take a bullet” for Russian President Vladimir Putin and that the war in Ukraine “was not intentional.”
In addition, he referred to the seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and said that he should “reject racist comments”.
“The statements made by Eccleston are his opinion and in complete contradiction to modern values,” foreign media reported.
It is known that Eccleston has a very good relationship with the Russian president, and from that friendship, Russia was enabled to race in the Formula 1 championship, for the Sochi Grand Prix, which has been held since 2014.
Let’s remember that this is not the only statement to which the public reacted violently.
Namely, in 2016 he declared that Putin is “the man who should lead Europe” and became known for his provocative comments on social and political issues.
Eccleston was a guest on a talk show and said that Putin is doing what he thinks is right for Russia, and when he was told that Putin’s actions cannot be justified, he replied:
“I do not know. It was not intentional.”
He criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying that he could have stopped the war by negotiating with Putin.
And when it comes to Formula 1, he commented on the statement of three-time world champion Nelson Piquet, who racially insulted seven-time world champion, Hamilton.
“It’s probably not appropriate here, but it’s probably not terrible if you say it in Brazil. But people say things and people talk about others who are overweight or short, like me. I’m sure people comment on that. If I had heard that, I could have handled it without much trouble,” Eccleston said.
