F1 hits out at Bernie Ecclestone’s Putin defence
Formula 1 has said comments made by former grand prix supremo Bernie Ecclestone defending Vladimir Putin are in ‘very stark contrast’ to the values of the series.


Ecclestone caused a stir on Thursday morning when, in an interview with ITV show Good Morning Britain, he moved to defend the actions of Russian president Putin in his war with Ukraine.
The 91-year-old said at one point: “I would still take a bullet for him. I’d rather it didn’t hurt but I would still take a bullet.”
Pushed on why he felt that way, Ecclestone added: “Because he’s a first class person, and what he’s doing is something that he believed was the right thing.
“Unfortunately he's like a lot of business people, certainly like me, that we make mistakes from time to time and when you make the mistake, you have to do the best you can to get out of it.”
Ecclestone then later criticised Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for having failed to avoid the war happening in the first place.
"The other person in Ukraine, his profession I understand used to be a comedian and I think it seems that he wants to continue that profession, because I think if he'd thought about things he would definitely have made a big enough effort to speak to Mr Putin, who is a sensible person, and would have listened to him and could have probably done something about it."

Bernie Ecclestone, CEO Formula One Group (FOM) with Mohammed Ben Sulayem
Photo by: Sutton Images
Ecclestone’s remarks triggered criticism on social media as they come in the wake of worldwide condemnation of Putin for launching the invasion that has cost thousands of lives.
While Ecclestone is no longer involved in the running of F1, having been moved aside when Liberty Media took over in 2017, he still enjoys a quite high public profile.
The risk of some perceiving Ecclestone’s remarks to be in-line with thinking of current F1 figures prompted the category to issue a statement making it clear his views could not be further from those held by the current F1 chiefs.
The statement said: “The comments made by Bernie Ecclestone are his personal views and are in very stark contrast to position of the modern values of the sport.”
It is not the first time that F1 has had to issue a statement to distance itself from controversial remarks made by Ecclestone.
In 2020, Ecclestone prompted fury in an interview with CNN when they discussed Lewis Hamilton’s anti-racism push.
He said: “In lots of cases, black people are more racist than what white people are.” Ecclestone also condemned the removal of statues of slave traders such as Edward Colston in Bristol during the protests.
F1 later released a statement saying: “At a time when unity is needed to tackle racism and inequality, we completely disagree with Bernie Ecclestone’s comments that have no place in Formula 1 or society.”

Verstappen: No hard feelings over Hamilton Copse crash one year later
Verstappen exclusive: Why F1’s champion isn’t fazed by Silverstone return

Latest news
Norris had to adjust to 2022 McLaren F1 car that was "very unsuited for me"
Lando Norris believes he has done a “reasonable job” adjusting to the 2022 McLaren Formula 1 car that is “very unsuited” to his driving style.
Top 10 Arrows F1 drivers ranked: Hill, Warwick, Fittipaldi and more
No Formula 1 team has started more races without winning one than Arrows, although it came close on several occasions. Twenty years on from the team's demise, Autosport takes on the task of ranking its best drivers
How Storm Eunice delayed Mercedes' F1 porpoising alarm
Mercedes only got a full grasp of how severe its porpoising issues were in Formula 1 pre-season testing after Storm Eunice impacted its first 2022 car shakedown at Silverstone.
When Indycar conquered F1 - Monzanapolis
Imagine a race between the best of Formula 1 and Indycar drivers.
The under-fire F1 driver fighting for his future
Personable, articulate and devoid of the usual racing driver airs and graces, Nicholas Latifi is the last Formula 1 driver you’d expect to receive death threats, but such was the toxic legacy of his part in last year’s explosive season finale. And now, as ALEX KALINAUCKAS explains, he faces a battle to keep his place on the F1 grid…
The strange tyre travails faced by F1’s past heroes
Modern grand prix drivers like to think the tyres they work with are unusually difficult and temperamental. But, says MAURICE HAMILTON, their predecessors faced many of the same challenges – and some even stranger…
The returning fan car revolution that could suit F1
Gordon Murray's Brabham BT46B 'fan car' was Formula 1 engineering at perhaps its most outlandish. Now fan technology has been successfully utilised on the McMurtry Speirling at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, could it be adopted by grand prix racing once again?
Hamilton's first experience of turning silver into gold
The seven-time Formula 1 world champion has been lumbered with a duff car before the 2022 Mercedes. Back in 2009, McLaren’s alchemists transformed the disastrous MP4-24 into a winning car with Lewis Hamilton at the wheel. And now it’s happening again at his current team, but can the rate of progress be matched this year?
Why few could blame Leclerc for following the example of Hamilton’s exit bombshell
OPINION: Ferrari's numerous strategy blunders, as well as some of his own mistakes, have cost Charles Leclerc dearly in the 2022 Formula 1 title battle in the first half of the season. Though he is locked into a deal with Ferrari, few could blame Leclerc if he ultimately wanted to look elsewhere - just as Lewis Hamilton did with McLaren 10 years prior
The other McLaren exile hoping to follow Perez's path to a top F1 seat
After being ditched by McLaren earlier in his F1 career Sergio Perez fought his way back into a seat with a leading team. BEN EDWARDS thinks the same could be happening to another member of the current grid
How studying Schumacher helped make Coulthard a McLaren F1 mainstay
Winner of 13 grands prix including Monaco and survivor of a life-changing plane crash, David Coulthard could be forgiven for having eased into a quiet retirement – but, as MARK GALLAGHER explains, in fact he’s busier than ever, running an award-winning media company and championing diversity in motor racing. Not bad for someone who, by his own admission, wasn’t quite the fastest driver of his generation…
Could F1 move to a future beyond carbonfibre?
Formula 1 has ambitious goals for improving its carbon footprint, but could this include banishing its favoured composite material? PAT SYMONDS considers the alternatives to carbonfibre and what use, if any, those materials have in a Formula 1 setting