Bernie Ecclestone apologized on Saturday for controversial statements he made recently about Russian President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine. The former Formula 1 boss recognizes that his texts were clumsy.
Ecclestone said over a week ago in Good Morning Britain including that he “would still like to take a bullet” for “world guy” Putin, who he says “only did what he thought was right”. Formula 1 distanced itself from those statements.
The 91-year-old Briton is now going back on his words. “People sometimes say or do things without really thinking about it. That’s what I did in this case,” he said in an interview with Sky Sports†
“I can imagine that people think I’m justifying what Putin did in Ukraine. But I didn’t mean it that way. I grew up during the war, so I know what it is.”
Bernie Ecclestone alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Bernie Ecclestone alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: Getty Images
‘The Ukrainians don’t deserve this’
During his controversial television appearance, Ecclestone was further critical of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In his interview with Sky Sports however, he emphasized his compassion for all Ukrainians.
“They have to suffer for something they didn’t do. They didn’t do anything wrong. They want to move on with their lives, see their children go to school, go to work and earn money to keep the family going. They don’t deserve this Ecclestone said.
“This is not good for anyone. I don’t see how anyone would benefit from this. They should sit down and come to a solution. Sorry if I made people angry with what I said. That was not my intention. “
It was not the first time that Formula 1 has distanced itself from controversial statements by Ecclestone. Two years ago, the Briton was discredited when he said that “black people are often more racist than white people”.