'It's not my fault I'm white' - Bernie Ecclestone on his own controversial race comments

"In lots of cases, black people are more racist than what white people are," Ecclestone said in an interview with CNN.

Formula One has already distanced itself from the controversial comments by the sport's former CEO, while six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton condemned Ecclestone for the "ignorant" comments.

But Ecclestone has since tried to throw cold water over his own comments, stating "it's not my fault I am white" in a lengthy interview.

"I am not anti-black people - quite the opposite," he told the Mail on Sunday.

"I have always been very much in favour. In fact, Lewis’ dad wanted to go into business with me. He made some nice rowing machines. I would never even have considered it if I had been anti-black. If the project had been right, I would have done it.

"Over the years, I have met a lot of white people I didn’t like, but never a black person I didn’t like.

"I’ve been mugged a couple of times, once by three black guys. I ended up in hospital, but even after that I was never against anyone who was black. I don’t think of Lewis as black or anything else. He’s just Lewis to me.

"If a black person or a white person gets turned down for a job you have to ask why. Was it because of their skin colour, or was it because they weren’t up to the job? That is what I was saying.

"And then people go on these marches, organised by quasi-Marxists who want to bring down the police, which would be a disaster for the country.

Ecclestone added: "It’s not my fault I am white, or that I am a little shorter than the next man. I was called Titch at school. I realised I had to do something about it. Black people should look after themselves.

"[Former McLaren boss] Ron Dennis didn’t stand in Lewis’ way when he was a boy. He looked after him. Willy T [Ribbs] was the first black man to drive an F1 car, for me, in the seventies."