It has indeed been a controversy-ridden month of June for F1, with three-time world champion Nelson Piquet being the latest to join the guilty party. Of course, the buzz around the Brazilian and his allegedly racist comment has certainly dialed down by a fine margin since late Wednesday.
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However, before we could even heave a sigh of relief, here’s another story that is starting to blow up in the motorsport community. This time, it’s the fire-starter, Bernie Ecclestone, former Formula One CEO.
The Briton has been quite active in the media over the past few weeks and has certainly garnered enough attention from the fans following his harsh remarks about Lewis Hamilton. There were a handful of bitter comments hurled at the seven-time world champion, which unsurprisingly led to an immense amount of backlash.
Barely weeks later, the British kingpin is back at it again, with another bunch of controversial comments. This time, it’s not Hamilton on the other side, and instead, it’s the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
Read More: Nelson Piquet ‘Never Intended to Offend’ Lewis Hamilton, F1 Fans Unsatisfied With Apology
We’re aware of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. And the fact that Ecclestone had once acknowledged his friendship with the Russian led the interviewer to bring up a very tricky question. But Ecclestone’s reply left the fans fuming.
What Bernie Ecclestone had to say about the Russian president
During an interview with Good Morning Britain, the interviewer asked if the 91-year-old’s friendship with Putin had taken a hit due to the latter’s recent actions against Ukraine.
“I’d still take a bullet for him,” Ecclestone replied. “He’s a first-class person and what he’s doing is something he’d believed was the right thing he’ll be doing for Russia. Unfortunately, he’s like a lot of business people, certainly like me, that we make mistakes from time to time. And when you make a mistake, you need to do the best you can to get out of it.”
'I'd still take a bullet for him.' Bernie Ecclestone says Ukrainian President Zelensky should have listened to Putin to avoid war because Putin 'is a sensible person'.
Ecclestone further reckoned that Putin is a ‘sensible’ person and would’ve listened to the voice of Ukraine had the country’s president made a move. “I think if it’d been conducted properly… I mean they have the person in Ukraine. His profession, I understand, is used to be a comedian.”
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“And I think it seems he wants to continue that profession. Because I think if he’d have thought about things, he made the big enough effort to speak to Mr. Putin, who is a sensible person, would’ve listened to him and probably would’ve done something about it,” the Briton concluded.
Ecclestone’s admission leaves F1 fans enraged
Here are some of the reactions from the F1 community that surfaced on social media following this viral interview of Ecclestone.
Why is Bernie Ecclestone still getting TV coverage in 2022 🤦🏻♂️ Just ship him off to a retirement home and be done with it
Deary me. That Ecclestone TV interview. More proof that we don't need to give him airtime.
Ecclestone’s support for Putin is baffling. And the suggestion that Hamilton should just brush off abusive language is sadly familiar. No idea if he genuinely believes what he says or he just gets his kicks out of being that way and deliberately upsetting people. Just awful.
#F1 criticises and distances itself from former series chief Bernie Ecclestone over comments supportive of Russian President Vladimir Putin and expressing surprise Lewis Hamilton didn't just 'brush aside' Nelson Piquet's racist slur: the-race.com/formula-1/f1-c…
After this, F1 says: "The comments made by Bernie Ecclestone are his personal views and are in very stark contrast to position of the modern values of our sport.” #F1
This is... Insane? pic.x.com/c1HVdtY6le
F1 is reflection of Bernie Ecclestone and was built in his image So when people are confused about the issues the sport has in regards to race you have to remember who built the foundations
This is... Insane? pic.x.com/c1HVdtY6le
Ecclestone has lost the plot. Evidently, he also said that Hamilton should have just brushed racist comments under the carpet. Does he really believe this nonsense?!
'I'd still take a bullet for him.' Bernie Ecclestone says Ukrainian President Zelensky should have listened to Putin to avoid war because Putin 'is a sensible person'.
This interview with Bernie Ecclestone... #GMB
Dear @F1, add Bernie Ecclestone to your list of people banned from the sport. Please and thank you...
'I'd still take a bullet for him.' Bernie Ecclestone says Ukrainian President Zelensky should have listened to Putin to avoid war because Putin 'is a sensible person'.
Jackie Stewart and Bernie Ecclestone should be the next ones to face the Nelson Piquet treatment
Bernie Ecclestone on #GMB Putin - “I’d still take a bullet for him” Zelenskyy - “he could have stopped the war” Lewis Hamilton facing racism - “he should get over it” If he dies before me, I will tell you my Bernie story, but it may not come as a surprise
What is your take on the comments made by Ecclestone? Let us know in the comments!