Formula 1 Execs Floored by Chief's Hitler Praise

Calls for boycott after Bernie Ecclestone hails Hitler for 'getting things done'
By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 8, 2009 4:24 AM CDT
Formula 1 Execs Floored by Chief's Hitler Praise
Bernie Ecclestone, who owns F1's commercial rights, attends a meeting at the FIA headquarters, in Paris last month.   (AP Photo/Gareth Watkins, Pool)

Executives from the firm that owns Formula One are scrambling to do damage control after their racing boss praised Adolf Hitler as a man who could "get things done." When told the World Jewish Congress was calling for his resignation, billionaire Bernie Ecclestone, 78, also said it was a "pity they didn't sort the banks out," reports the Daily Mail. Ecclestone later apologized for his comments, but not soon enough to head off calls for a boycott of the race.

"No team should work with him any more. A boycott would be more than appropriate," said a spokesman for Germany's Central Council of Jews. CVC, the financial equity firm that owns Formula One, "was shocked at the comments, and we fully concur" with Ecclestone's "unreserved apology," said a company statement. (More Bernie Ecclestone stories.)

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