Earlier this year, Formula 1 canceled the 2022 Russian Grand Prix as a consequence of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Not only that, but numerous drivers on the grid featured the ‘No War’ message on their helmets. However, in a recent interview with Good Morning Britain, the former chief executive of the F1 group, Bernie Ecclestone said something that shocked the world of F1.

While talking about the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, Ecclestone stated “I’d rather it didn’t hurt but I’d still take a bullet because he is a first-class person and what he is doing is something he believes is the right thing, he’s doing for Russia.”

“Unfortunately he is like a lot of business people, certainly like me, we make mistakes from time to time and when you make mistakes you have to do the best you can to get out of it.”

The remarks of the former head of F1 group left Lewis Hamilton stunned. The British driver expressed his emotion by saying “We don’t need any more of it, to hear from someone that believes in the war, and the displacement of people and killing of people, and supporting that person (Putin) is beyond me.”

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The opinion of Ecclestone has left the F1 paddock stupefied with the management of F1 ensuring to release a statement which 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.”

Lewis Hamilton in Disbelief After Hearing Ecclestone’s Statement

The seven-time world champion has ensured to use his platform to raise his voice for critical societal issues. Lewis has been seen promoting the ‘Black Lives Matter’ campaign and also showing his support for the LGBTQ community.

Lewis further opined on Ecclestone’s words by saying “I cannot believe I heard that. This is going to put us back decades, and we have yet to see the real brunt of the pain. Why? We do not need to be supporting that but looking into the future. If you don’t have anything positive to contribute, don’t give them any space.”

The Brit along with F1 remains confident in their stand against the social issue.

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It is the 10th round of the championship that is set to unfold at the British GP this weekend. Hamilton, who has been the victim of some inappropriate comments from Nelson Piquet in the past week, has been the focus of media this weekend.

In his home race, the Mercedes driver aspires to step back on the podium and let his driving do the talking.