Bernie Ecclestone would ‘take a bullet’ for Vladimir Putin; F1 distances itself from his comments

Bernie Ecclestone would ‘take a bullet’ for Vladimir Putin; F1 distances itself from his comments
By The Athletic Staff
Jun 30, 2022

Former Formula One CEO Bernie Ecclestone said he would "take a bullet" for Russian President Vladimir Putin and described the leader as "a first-class person" in an interview.

When asked in an interview with ITV's "Good Morning Britain" if he's still friends with Putin, Ecclestone responded: "I'd still take a bullet for him. I'd rather it didn't hurt, but if it does, I'd still take a bullet because he's a first-class person. What he's doing (in Ukraine) is something that he believed was the right thing he was doing for Russia."

Ecclestone has reportedly been friends with Putin since the Russian Grand Prix's introduction in 2014. The 91-year-old also criticized Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and said he could have done more to avoid war with Russia.

"I think 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 would have listened to him and could have probably done something about it."

Following the interview, an F1 spokesperson said: "The comments made by Bernie Ecclestone are his personal views and are in very stark contrast to the position of the modern values of our sport."

(Photo: Marcelo Machado de Melo / Getty Images)

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