Bernie Ecclestone has risked condemnation by describing Russian president Vladimir Putin as “straightforward and honourable”. But Ecclestone, 91, defended the 69-year-old former KGB officer, with whom he conceived the current Russian GP in the resort city Sochi which has just been cancelled for 2022. “As a person I found him very straightforward and honourable,” Ecclestone told Times Radio. “He did exactly what he said he was going to do without any arguments.”. “Maybe other people think it was the right thing for Russia to do,” he said. “The positive side for me now is the cohesion within Europe,” said Marko. Marko said axing Sochi is “the only right thing” to do.

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