Ex-F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone reignites row with Lewis Hamilton blasting racer’s political protests

Ex-Formula 1 tycoon Bernie Ecclestone has reignited his feud with Lewis Hamilton as after blasting his political protests by saying ‘people don’t go to a Formula One race to have a lecture’.

Ecclestone, 92, who previously defended Nelson Piquet’s use of the N-word towards the driver in a bizarre TV interview in July last year, also accused Hamilton being desperate for attention.

It comes after Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, questioned why ‘older voices’ like his were still being given a platform following Piquet’s racial slur.

But Ecclestone has now suggested that instead: ‘Maybe the older generation are not interested in listening to what he has to say.’

The former F1 boss even suggested that Hamilton was bitter over losing publicity to the older generations and was upset about losing publicity.

Lewis Hamilton (centre) kneel and stand on the grid before the race in support of the Black Lives Matter campaign at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in August 2020

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Ex-Formula 1 tycoon Bernie Ecclestone (pictured) has reignited his row with Lewis Hamilton as he again blasted the racer’s political protests saying he is ‘100 per cent against it’

‘Maybe, when the older generation are making statements, and some people think they’re correct, he doesn’t like it, because it’s taking up the space that he would normally have,’ Ecclestone told The Telegraph.

His latest comments comes as F1 drivers are now using racing weekends as a platform to raise awareness for political and social issues.

But bosses at the FIA will be making a crack down on ‘political gestures’ in the upcoming season.

Such gestures have included Hamilton wearing a rainbow coloured helmet in Qatar to promote LGBT+ rights and fellow driver Sebastian Vettel wearing a ‘Same Love’ t-shirt at the Hungarian Grand Prix to protests the nations anti-gay rights laws.

But Ecclestone said that racing fans do not turn up ‘to have a lecture’, adding that while ‘drivers should have free speech’ that it was ‘a case of when and how they use it’.

‘It’s wrong. It’s all completely wrong. I’m 100 per cent against it,’ he added.

Lewis Hamilton kneels in support of the Black Lives Matter campaign on the grid before the F1 at the Yas Marina racetrack in Abu Dhabi in December 2020

Hamilton has previously called Ecclestone (left) ‘ignorant and uneducated’ for his comments

The feud between Ecclestone and Hamilton has raged for several years. In 2021, Ecclestone claimed that the Black Lives Matter movement was using Hamilton for his money – and criticised ‘this business of kneeling before races’.

But Hamilton had previously slammed him as ‘ignorant and uneducated’ over his claims that there is no racism in the sport. 

But Ecclestone insisted Hamilton ‘misunderstood’ his view but said he was ‘entitled to his opinion’ on the need for increased opportunities.

After Nelson Piquet’s use of the N-word in a row with Hamilton, Ecclestone doubled down on his defence of the former champion last summer.

Talking to Piers Morgan on his TalkTV show Uncensored said the racist slur was ‘the same’ as calling someone fat. 

Morgan told him: ‘Bernie, there is no equivalent between somebody calling a black person the N word and saying that you are undersized – there is no equivalent, you must see that?’

Ecclestone replied: ‘It’s terribly rude to say somebody undersized or a fat person. If, for example, they’re black and they’re saying your fat, I suppose it’s the same sort of thing.’

Asked for a response to Hamilton’s comments that people like him shouldn’t have a platform, he said: ‘Complete load of rubbish. Because if he’s referring to me, he should think a little bit. 

‘His father and myself had talked about going into business for a while. I’m not racist, quite the opposite to be honest. His comments are crazy.’