Why Formula One Is Still so in Thrall to the Nazis ; This Week, Racing Boss Bernie Ecclestone Praised Hitler's Ability to 'Get Things Done' and Blamed Jews for the Banking Crisis. But He's Not the First in Motorsport to Have Sympathised with the Fascists [Scot Region Edition 2]

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BERNIE ECCLESTONE'S tongue has proved somewhat more combustible than the highoctane petrol that drives the cars of his Formula One empire. The F1 boss made an extraordinary outburst in an interview at the weekend, declaring his admiration for Hitler and stating his contempt for democracy.

'If you have a look at democracy, it hasn't done a lot of good for many countries - including this one,' he said, while remarking that Hitler was able 'to get things done'.

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Why Formula One Is Still so in Thrall to the Nazis ; This Week, Racing Boss Bernie Ecclestone Praised Hitler's Ability to 'Get Things Done' and Blamed Jews for the Banking Crisis. But He's Not the First in Motorsport to Have Sympathised with the Fascists [Scot Region Edition 2]

He even appeared to excuse some of the dictator's crimes by suggesting he was 'persuaded to do things that I have no idea whether he wanted to or not'.

Controversy swiftly ensued, and in a newspaper article yesterday, Ecclestone somewhat half-heartedly tried to make amends, saying: 'During the 1930s, Germany was facing an economic crisis but Hitler was able to rebuild the economy, building the autobahns and German industry. That was all I meant when I referred to him getting things done.'

In another interview, he added: 'Hitler brought a country that was bank...

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