The former F1 boss sparked outrage by describing Putin as a “first class person” and that he would take a bullet for the Russian president during an interview on Good Morning Britain last week and was set to miss tomorrow’s Austrian Grand Prix as a result of reaction.
But speaking to Sky Sports News today, the billionaire apologized and clarified his views on the war, insisting he did not mean to “upset anyone”.
It is unclear if the clip was part of a larger interview and did not address the controversy surrounding Nelson Piquet.
Ecclestone had originally appeared on GMB to discuss the racist firestorm surrounding Piquet after he called Lewis Hamilton the N-word in a resurfaced video, but Ecclestone continued to defend the 69-year-old in the same GMB interview, which apparently went unreported when he spoke to Sky Sports today.
He said: “It would probably be good for me to get some things off my chest, things that bothered me about what I said and what people think I said.
“I think often people come out and say things or do things without really thinking too much.
“I probably did the same. I can understand people thinking I’m defending what he did in Ukraine, which I’m not.
“I grew up during the war, the last war, so I know what it’s like.
“So I’m sorry that people in Ukraine have to suffer for something they didn’t do. They have done nothing wrong. They didn’t start anything. They want to get on with their lives.
Responding to Ecclestone’s apology, people on social media noted how he had not apologized to Lewis Hamilton.
One wrote: “Why is she still interviewing.. she doesn’t regret anything.”
Another said: “Too late for an apology Bernie. You should never have said that in the first place.”
Bernie Ecclestone has apologized for his controversial comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine. Photo: Bernie Ecclestone speaking this morning
Pictured: Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and F1 Supremo Bernie Ecclestone (R) attend the Formula One Russian Grand Prix on October 11, 2015 in Sochi, Russia
“They want the children to go to school and try to go to work and earn a living to support the family.
So they don’t deserve to suffer. It’s not good for anyone. I can’t see anyone getting anything out of this and I think they need to get together and come to an agreement.
“And I’m sorry if anything I said offended anyone because it certainly wasn’t intended.”
His apology comes after a strange interview on Good Morning Britain last week.
Ecclestone sparked outrage when he took a shot at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying he was a comedian before Ukraine’s war and seemed to “want to keep being one”.
He then insisted that the invasion “could have ended differently” if Zelensky had “talked to Putin”.
When pressed by journalist Kate Garraway, who asked if he believed a change in actions by Zelensky, rather than Putin, could have avoided war, Ecclestone replied: “Absolutely.”
He added: “What he is doing is something he believed was the right thing for Russia.
Responding to Ecclestone’s apology, people on social media noted how he had not apologized to Lewis Hamilton
The former F1 boss (pictured with Putin in 2014) previously said he believed the Russian President should be running Europe and the invasion of Crimea was just to “bring Russia back together”.
“Unfortunately, like many entrepreneurs, certainly like myself, we make mistakes from time to time and when you make a mistake you have to do the best you can to get out of it.”
He added: “I think if it had been conducted properly – I mean the other person in Ukraine … I understand that he was a comedian, and I think he seems to want to continue in this profession … I think if he had thought about things that he certainly would have done quite an effort to talk to Mr. Putin, who is a reasonable man and would have listened to him and probably would have done something about it.”
Presenter Ben Shephard questioned Ecclestone about the thousands of innocent lives lost in Ukraine, asking him: “You can’t justify it, surely?”
Ecclestone replied: “I don’t. It was not intentional – look at any time America has moved to different countries that have nothing to do with America.’
He added: “And I’m sure that Ukraine, if they wanted to get out of it properly, they could have.”
Mr Eccelstone is a known fan of the Russian President and the pair have been seen together at sporting events. (Photo at an F1 event in Sochi, Russia in 2018)
Picture: Bernie Ecclestone and Tamara Ecclestone attend a Formula 1 charity photo auction on February 7, 2014
Photo: Model Tamara Ecclestone with then F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone at the 2013 F1 World Championship
Asked if he had a chance to talk to Putin about “what a mess” the situation is or urge him to rethink what he’s doing, Ecclestone said: “No. He probably thought of it himself. I probably don’t need a reminder.
“I’m quite sure he now wishes he hadn’t started this whole business, but that it hadn’t started as a war.”
His former colleagues were quick to distance themselves from his comments, with F1 releasing a statement saying they were “very much at odds with the modern values position of our sport”.
Bernie and Vlad’s friendship was born out of the lucrative Formula 1 deal
Bernie Ecclestone and Vladimir Putin’s friendship blossomed after the introduction of the Russian Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2014. Sochi was announced as the host city of the annual event as part of a seven-year deal. However, the £40m contract expired this year following the invasion of Ukraine. After signing the original contract, Bernie and Vlad were regularly seen sharing a box at sporting events over the years. They were often depicted in deep conversation or laughing while sharing a joke. Ecclestone first offered to take a bullet for Putin in 2019. He said at the time that he would “stand in front of a machine gun” to save him, because he is a “good guy”. He said he did not believe he was behind the infamous Novichok attack in Salisbury, accusing people of making things up. He said: ”He didn’t do that. He would be too busy to worry about that. Storytellers make these things up.’ Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were poisoned with the Novichok nerve agent on March 4, 2018. Dawn Sturgess, 44, died after coming into contact with a perfume container used to transport Novichok on June 30. The two suspects – known by their aliases Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov – were caught on CCTV in Salisbury the day before the attack, and in an interview claimed they were just visiting the city to see the cathedral. The Russian government has always denied any involvement in the incident. The former F1 boss also said he believed Putin should be running Europe and that the invasion of Crimea was just to “bring Russia back”. He added: “I would like him to run Europe,” he says. “We don’t have anyone, so it couldn’t be worse. It does what it says it will do… “I am not a supporter of democracy. You need a dictator. As a dictator, you say, “This is what I will do.” In a democracy, things weaken.’ It comes after Russian attacks on apartment buildings and a shopping mall in Ukraine in late June, the latter of which was branded a war crime by Western leaders. Ecclestone, however, said such civilian casualties were “not intentional”, despite fears that tens of thousands of innocents were killed by indiscriminate shelling. The billionaire is a longtime admirer of Putin and the duo have been seen together at sporting events, often in deep conversation or laughter. Their friendship blossomed after the introduction of the Russian Grand Prix in 2014. Even the day after Russian troops invaded Ukraine in February this year, Ecclestone described Putin as “honest” and someone who “did exactly what he said he was going to do without argument”. Ecclestone had emerged from a sunny rooftop in Ibiza this morning to give his thoughts on the racism storm engulfing F1, defending Nelson Piquet, 69, after Lewis Hamilton used the N-word in an interview. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss led the condemnation of his remarks, telling GMB: “I think these comments are extraordinary, absolutely extraordinary.” He added: “This is a man who carried out a horrific war, which includes systematically raping women, targeting civilians in shopping malls. “I find these comments absolutely extraordinary from Bernie Ecclestone. Clearly Vladimir Putin is toxic, the Prime Minister is right to say so.’ Ms Truss said she found Putin’s “apologists” “absolutely shocking” when they can clearly see the “horrendous” atrocities unfolding in Ukraine. Formula 1 added: “The comments made by Bernie Ecclestone are his personal views and are very much at odds with the modern values position of our sport.” Ecclestone had been invited to the show to discuss the latest racism storm to hit F1 after a video emerged of Nelson Piquet calling Lewis Hamilton the N-word while discussing his crash with Max Verstappen at Silverstone last year. While the Brazilian apologized and insisted his language was not intended to be racist, he faces a ban from the F1 paddock. But Ecclestone, his long-time friend, was quick to defend him today. He told GMB: “I’ve known Nelson for a long time. I was with him a few weeks ago. “It’s not something that Nelson would say in a bad way. “He probably thinks about a lot of things he says that might upset us or feel a little offensive… to him it’s nothing. It’s just part of the conversation. “Nelson would never go out of his way to…
