Bernie Ecclestone

Ecclestone was stopped at Tires airfield near Cascais after bringing a shotgun into Portugal on a private jet from Switzerland without the required import document. He said the weapon was intended for clay-pigeon shooting. His wife handed the gun over to authorities in Lisbon and Ecclestone signed the necessary documents.

State of the evidence

Documented

Ecclestone pleaded guilty to one count of fraud under the Fraud Act 2006 for lying to HMRC at a settlement meeting in July 2015 by claiming not to be a settlor or beneficiary of trusts unknown to the tax authorities. Southwark Crown Court sentenced him in October 2023 to 17 months' imprisonment suspended for two years. A civil settlement with HMRC covered approximately 652.6 million pounds in tax, interest and penalties.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Attribution

Accused

Brazilian police announced that an undocumented .32-calibre handgun had been found in Ecclestone's luggage before a flight from Campinas. He acknowledged owning the weapon but said he had not known it was in his luggage, paid bail and was allowed to continue his journey.

State of the evidence

Documented

Ecclestone stated that he would 'take a bullet' for Vladimir Putin, described him as a first-class leader and made remarks placing some responsibility on Volodymyr Zelensky. Around the same period, he suggested that Lewis Hamilton should move on from the racial slur used by Nelson Piquet. Formula 1 publicly distanced itself from his remarks.

State of the evidence

Documented

Against the background of the Black Lives Matter movement and Lewis Hamilton's campaign for greater diversity in Formula 1, Ecclestone stated that Black people were often more racist than White people and played down Formula 1's previous capacity to combat racism. Hamilton strongly criticised the remarks and Formula 1 officially distanced itself from them.

State of the evidence

Documented

Ecclestone stated that female drivers would not be taken seriously in Formula 1 and expressed doubts about their physical ability to drive single-seaters at the same level as men. The remarks prompted renewed controversy over sexism in motor racing.

State of the evidence

Documented

In Constantin Medien v Ecclestone, the British High Court examined approximately 44 million dollars paid to Gerhard Gribkowsky during the sale of Formula 1 rights. The judge concluded that Ecclestone had paid a bribe as part of a corrupt agreement but dismissed Constantin Medien's claim because the company had not demonstrated the causally related loss necessary for the damages sought.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Accused

German prosecutors charged Ecclestone with bribery in the Gribkowsky case. In August 2014, the Munich court discontinued the trial under a German legal mechanism allowing certain prosecutions to be terminated subject to conditions, after Ecclestone agreed to pay 100 million dollars, comprising 99 million to the state and 1 million to a charitable organisation.

Attribution

Accused

In an interview, Ecclestone cited Hitler as an example of someone able to 'get things done' and made strongly critical remarks about democracy's effectiveness while also speaking favourably of authoritarian leaders. Following the resulting outrage, he apologised unreservedly and called himself an idiot for his remarks.

State of the evidence

Documented

Asked about the racist abuse and gestures directed at Lewis Hamilton, Ecclestone initially described the affair as 'nonsense' and a 'joke', provoking strong criticism. He subsequently explained that he had intended to describe the perpetrators as 'clowns', not deny the seriousness of racism, notably recalling his earlier opposition to apartheid.

State of the evidence

Documented

Following Danica Patrick's performance at Indianapolis, Ecclestone made remarks to journalists comparing women to 'domestic appliances' and relegating them to a subordinate position. Patrick publicly said she was upset and bewildered by the statements.

State of the evidence

Documented

The disclosure of an approximately one-million-pound donation from Bernie Ecclestone to Labour triggered a political crisis after the Blair government granted Formula 1 a transitional exemption from its proposed tobacco advertising ban. The party ultimately returned the donation on the recommendation of its ethics adviser to avoid the appearance of a conflict.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility