Former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone says he'd 'take a bullet' for Vladimir Putin, calling him a 'first-class person'

By Ben Morse, CNN

Updated 1417 GMT (2217 HKT) June 30, 2022

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and Bernie Ecclestone shake hands during the inaugural Russian Grand Prix at the Sochi Autodrom in Sochi on October 12, 2014.

(CNN)Former Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has said he would «take a bullet» for Vladimir Putin and called the Russian President a «first-class person.»

When asked on British TV show Good Morning Britain if President Putin was still a friend of his, the 91-year-old Englishman said on Thursday: «I'd still take a bullet for him. I'd rather it didn't hurt, but I would still take a bullet.» Nearly five months after Russia invaded Ukraine, the conflict continues. Thousands of lives have been lost and millions have been displaced, according to the UN, and though Kyiv racked up a series of early victories in the initial aftermath, the tide appears to be turning in the Kremlin's favor, especially in the east. «What he's doing is something that he believed was the right thing,» Ecclestone said of the war. «Unfortunately, he's like a lot of businesspeople, 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.» Russia's war in UkraineRead MoreEcclestone, who was replaced as chief executive of F1 in 2017 after nearly four decades in charge, also went on to criticize Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's handling of the invasion.«The other person in Ukraine… his profession I understand, he used to be a comedian — and I think it seems that he wants to continue that profession,» he said. «I think if he'd thought about things, he would definitely have made a big enough effort to speak to Putin, who is a sensible person,