Bernie Ecclestone says he would “take a bullet” for “first class” Vladimir Putin as he defends war in Ukraine

A Formula One spokesman said: “The comments made by Bernie Ecclestone are his personal views”

Bernie Ecclestone saying he’d “take a bullet” for Vladimir Putin does not represent the “modern values” of Formula One, a spokesman for the motoring body has said.

F1 issued a statement after its former chief executive described Mr Putin as “sensible” and “a first class person” who “believed he was doing the right thing for Russia”.

Speaking to ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Thursday morning, Mr Ecclestone said: “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.”

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A Formula One spokesman said: “The comments made by Bernie Ecclestone are his personal views and are in very stark contrast to the position of the modern values of our sport.”

The 91-year-old billionaire businessman also criticised Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy for not making enough effort to reach out to his Russian rival.

Read more: Sky News