Speaking in an interview on Good Morning Britain last month, Ecclestone said he would “take a bullet” for the “good” Putin. This led F1 to condemn Ecclestone’s interview, in which he also suggested that Lewis Hamilton should have “rejected” a racially abusive comment by Nelson Piquet. F1 said shortly after that Ecclestone’s comments were “completely at odds with modern values”. Two weeks after the initial interviews, Ecclestone apologized for comments he made about Putin in a Sky interview aired on Thursday’s Austrian Grand Prix. “It’s probably good for me to get some things off my chest, some things that bothered me about what I said and what people think I said,” Ecclestone began to say in the clip released by Sky. “So I think often people just come out and say things or do things, without really thinking too much. Former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has apologized for controversial views he expressed about Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/gKeQQ2GIvB — Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 9, 2022 “I probably did the same, I could understand people who think I’m defending what he did in Ukraine, which I’m not. “I grew up during the last war, so I know what it’s like, I feel sorry for the people in Ukraine who suffered for something they didn’t do.” The 91-year-old former league boss said he hoped Russia and Ukraine would “meet and come to an agreement”. In the clip, he concludes by saying “I’m sorry if anything I’ve said has upset anyone because it certainly wasn’t intended.” No mention of Hamilton was made in the clip of the interview that was released. Thanks for your response!
