view photoThe future of the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, as well as the viability of Bernie Ecclestone's long-standing role at the head of F1's commercial rights, fell under a dark cloud on Monday.
In the wake of the 78-year-old F1 chief executive's extraordinary interview with the Times of London, in which he spoke about dictators including Hitler, a German politician has cancelled a planned meeting with the Briton.
In the interview, Ecclestone said Hitler was one of his favourite historical dictators for his ability to "command a lot of people" and "get things done", adding that "in the end he got lost so he wasn't a very good dictator because either he had all these things and knew what was going on and insisted, or he just went along with it."
To German newspaper Bild, Ecclestone afterwards insisted that he did not want to put Hitler in a positive light but meant to say that "before his dreadful crimes he worked successfully against unemployment and economic problems."
We reported late last week that Ecclestone was due to meet with Baden-Wurttemberg state premier Gunther Oettinger at the Nurburgring this weekend, in a bid to rescue embattled Hockenheim's Formula One round.
But in the wake of the controversy, a spokesman for the Oettinger government says the meeting has been called off.
Spokesman Christoph Dahl is quoted by the German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur as confirming that it is the controversy surrounding Ecclestone's comments that sparked the decision.
Earlier, the Central Council of Jews in Germany joined the chorus of condemnation, referring specifically to the then-scheduled Ecclestone-Oettinger meeting.
"One must not negotiate with fascists. One must condemn them and spurn them," the Council's deputy head Dieter Graumann said.
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Bernie should have the old maxim tattooed on his wrist "Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool, than open it and remove all doubt."
Comment 8 - to which country are you refering to? Russia is NOT a communist country any more and neither is East Germany or Poland or several other once communistic regimes - so I wonder where your head is besides between your legs and up your @#$%
Once again it's time for the two old men of F1 to step aside. Their minds are cracking up, they really should move away now and leave it to serious, clear thinking, Motor Racing folk, we've had enough now of B & M's ego-circus, let's get back to the real world.
He has forgotten that all this "good" stuff with employment increase back then brought the state so many debts that they needed to buy their own shares.
Similiar thing he makes with the facility, he makes contracts, gets his money and does not care if they even can take in the money from the tickets etc. and if they can not pay anymore he makes another facility and the game continues again from new...
Just like a true dictator....
Bernie is motivated by money, first, last and in the middle. Maybe he thought that saying something so crass and offensive to Western ears would open other lucrative doors for him . Iranian Grand Prix anyone?
What a strange notion Bernie has "....one of my favourite dictators.."
Appears unaware that to become a dictator you HAVE to be a person capable of manipulating and instilling fear in others........
Once in a position of power....you defend that position by ANY means possible.
Oh....just like Bernie & Max.......................
...One must condemn them and spurn them...
The other ones (comunists, the best buddies of nazis until a certain moment) are still acting in the same way as they did prior, during, and after the war, and everything is fine with them. For many countries they were and still are a lot worse than nazis. We should condemn both or none!
Serves the motherfxxker right. I think all the host countries are sick and tired of their greed and bullsxxts.
lmao, these 2 guys seem intent on finding the most stupid way possible to de-throne themselves.........dang good job Bernie, Max..........your both old nutcases.
Amazing.
Recently Max was pictured in some sort of Nazi scenario beating (one can assume) Jewish prisoners - remembering what his daddy did before the war.......now Bernie makes these comments.
What will it take to rid the sport of these two idiots?
What a stupid man ecclescake is turning out to be .... he now seems to have open his mouth W I D E R than even and had a B M W reversed into it.
Was Bernie in the video with Max was getting slapped
by that cute girl with the German accent ?
Brilliant, all governments and teams, sponsors and hangers on must use this opportunity to say this is one too far.
Hitler did not lose it in the end, he always from the beginning (1933) had plans drawn up to rid society of people whom he considered not to be economically valuable or to 'polute' his vision of a pure nation. He set about this before the war, and it was only the circumstances of the war that allowed him to take it to it's extremes.
The fact that Ecclescake does not know aspects of history, that should have informed him before making these types of statements, shows just how shallow he really is.
If for nothing else he must go for this.
Excellent that is the way to deal with insame minds like Bernie. His ideas and time have passed. There are so many people and leaders in the modern world doing excellent things making this world more peaceful and successful than Hitler's dark era. Germans and other people dont want to dwell on the past but want to tackle modern challenges, Bernie is afraid of the future because he is running out of time.
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