Ecclestone: outrage continues

07/07/2009

There is continued outrage following comments made at the weekend by Bernie Ecclestone, when the F1 supremo appeared to suggest that Adolf Hitler wasn't all bad.

Guenther Oettinger, state premier of the southern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, has cancelled a planned meeting with Ecclestone at the Nurburgring this weekend, plainly stating that the Englishman's comments were the reason, while Dieter Graumann, vice president of Germany's Central Council of Jews, has called on teams to boycott the sport. Clearly he hasn't heard of the threat posed by FOTA's proposed breakaway.

No team should work with him any more," said Graumann in an interview with Handelsblatt, "a boycott would be more than appropriate. Just one week before the start of the Nurburgring, the teams should make very clear that whoever praises Hitler, shows he is not serious.

He went on to describe Ecclestone as "either empty headed or unbelievably malicious.. probably both".

Meanwhile, Ecclestone attempted to play down the second Nazi story to hit the sport in as many years.

"It is all a big misunderstanding," he told Bild. "In the interview we talked about structures and that it's sometimes good if something can be handled stringently and decided without limits.

"I did not mention Hitler as a positive example I just pointed out that before his terrible crimes, he succeeded in fighting unemployment and the economic crisis.

"I would never dream of hurting the feelings of a community. A lot of people among my closest friends are Jews. Everyone that knows me, knows that I would never attack minorities."

As the furore continues, Pitpass understands that there is no truth in internet speculation that Osama bin Laden, Kim Jong-il and Muammar al-Gaddafi will be attending this weekend's race as guests of the 79-year-old.