Former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone came out in defence of Russian president Vladimir Putin despite his orders for troops to invade Ukraine.
Russia began its military advance into Ukraine in the early hours of February 24, with hundreds having died in the conflict since – many of the deceased innocent civilians.
The day after the attack begun, Ecclestone took part in a radio interview to share some insight on a man with whom he had shared a close relationship in the past.
The 91-year-old has spoken highly of the Russian leader on numerous occasions in the past.
He has also had business relationships with Putin, such as when they struck a deal in 2014 for the Russian Grand Prix to become a regular fixture in the Formula 1 calendar.
It was referring to those dealings in that February 25 interview with Times Radio when Ecclestone spoke highly of the man who had just ordered the might of his armed forces to invade Ukraine.
"As a person I found him very straightforward and honourable," he said. "He did exactly what he said he was going to do without any arguments."
Ecclestone went on to say he felt the 2022 Russian Grand Prix could still go ahead, and that some people may be of the opinion that Putin's actions are justifiable.
"I think it depends very much on what the exact situation is between Ukraine and Russia," he added. "It's not going to make any difference if there is a race in Russia to anything else that has happened in the world.
"I suppose it is the people who are engaged in the event who would decide on it, because maybe other people think it was the right thing for Russia to do. So how can anyone else judge exactly what is happening today?"
It is far from the first time Ecclestone has defended Putin. In a 2019 interview with the Times, he said he would like to see the Russian leader "running Europe".
He even once went as far as to say that he would give his life to save Putin's if necessary.
"If someone had a machine gun and was prepared to shoot Putin, I would stand in front of him," he added. "Because he's a good guy. He's never done anything that isn't doing good things for people."
