Bernie Ecclestone “would take a bullet” for Vladimir Putin

Ecclestone and Putin

Bernie Ecclestone is a controversial figure in the sport of Formula 1 and in his most recent interview he may have made his most outrageous comments to date. When speaking to ESPN the former F1 chief said that he would "take a bullet" for Russia's president Vladimir Putin. The Russian leader has visited a few Grand Prix's and clearly has a good relationship with Ecclestone.

"If someone had a machine gun and was prepared to shoot Putin, I would stand in front of him," Ecclestone said to ESPN. "He's a good guy. He's never done anything that isn't doing good things for people."

"I would like him running Europe. We haven't got anybody, so it couldn't be any worse. He does what he says he is going to do… I am not a supporter of democracy. You need a dictator.

"As a dictator, you say, 'This is what I'm going to do'. In a democracy, it gets watered down."

Bernie Ecclestone played a big role in getting Russia onto the Formula 1 calendar and he seems to have a strong friendship with Putin.