Ecclestone: FIA 'absolutely right' not to ban Russian drivers

Former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone believes the FIA was "absolutely right" not to ban Russian drivers from international competitions amid calls to do so.

Late on Tuesday, motorsport's governing body revealed that it would not prevent drivers holding a Russian licence from taking part in events sanctioned by the FIA, as long as they race in a "neutral capacity" and under the institution's flag.

The FIA's decision ran opposite to calls from most sporting federations, including the International Olympic Committee, which are canceling events in Russia and imposing widespread bans on the country's individual athletes.

On Wednesday, Motorsport UK took matters into its own hands and announced that competitors holding a Russian licence will not be allowed to compete in any events taking place in Britain until further notice.

But Ecclestone believes the FIA made the right call by abstaining from implementing a hard ban on Russian drivers.

"It was absolutely the right decision by the FIA," Ecclestone told the PA news agency.

"There are so many things being agreed by the world about this conflict between Russian and Ukraine. But I don’t think anybody has really thought it through or got their heads around it.

"If there is a Russian driver in F1, what does it have to do with Russia fighting a war? There is no relationship there.

"The Russian athletes have nothing to do with this conflict. They are not part of it, and they have never been part of it. They just happen to be Russian."

Ecclestone, who ran Formula 1 for four decades, oversaw Russia's entry onto Grand Prix racing's calendar in 2014, and has often praised president Vladimir Putin for his "straightforward and honourable" way of conducting his business.

The 91-year-old isn't sure that Formula 1's decision to cancel this year's Russian Grand Prix was the right course of action. But Ecclestone believes that scrapping Sochi from the sport's agenda is likely the least of Putin's worries.

• Read also: Russian drivers banned from competing in Britain

"The Formula One Group decided it was the right thing to do to cancel the race but whether that was the right thing to do I don’t know? There is no war in Russia," he said.

"The FIA confirmed it was cancelled because the Formula One Group cancelled it. If nobody spoke about cancelling the race, I am sure the FIA wouldn’t have done anything.

"He [Putin] is probably not happy at all with what is happening, but with all these things going on, and him being branded a criminal and with the world against him, I don’t think he would care too much about a Formula One race."

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