F1 condemns Ecclestone's comments on racism, says his remarks have 'no place in society'

Formula One has distanced themselves from former Chief Bernie Ecclestone's racist remarks made during an interview with an American news channel on Friday morning. The sport's authorities stated they completely disagree with the comments and added that his remarks "have no place in Formula 1 or society".

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F1 steers away from Ecclestone

“At a time when unity is needed to tackle racism and inequality, we completely disagree with Bernie Ecclestone’s comments that have no place in Formula 1 or society. Mr Ecclestone has played no role in Formula 1 since he left our organisation in 2017, his title Chairman Emeritus, being honorific, expired in January 2020," the statement by F1 read. 

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Ecclestone raised a fresh controversy on Friday after he said that "black people are more racist than what white people are" in multiple cases and that taking down the statues across the United States of America and England was "completely stupid".

In the interview, Ecclestone praised Lewis Hamilton for his talent and the work that he has been doing for the black rights movement. However, when asked about the impact of the Englishman's Hamilton Commission to increase diversity in the sport, the 89-year-old said that it will not do any good or bad, but instead will make people think since people will realise the differences between each other. Specifying on why it will not make an impact, he said, "In lots of cases, black people are more racist than what white people are." 

When asked to justify his comments, without mentioning any incident or providing any significant details, Eccelstone said "things over the years I have noticed and there is no need for it".

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The clarification by Formula One comes days after the sport announced an initiative, “We Race As One”, to increase diversity in the sport and eliminate racism. "The Task Force will be specifically focused at identifying the employment and education opportunities for under-represented groups across Formula 1, including STEM careers, and the required actions to address these findings," F1 said.

The sport will be funding $1 million initially to back the initiative and CEO Chase Carey said, "We want to ensure we give people from all backgrounds the best chances to work in Formula 1 regardless of their gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or physical abilities."

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