F1 News

peter windsor blames media for ecclestone statements

Windsor confirms 'Ecclestone accusation': 'Didn't mean it that way'

14 December 2023 at 12:00

Peter Windsor, the former team manager of the Williams Formula 1 team, tackles a wide variety of topics on his YouTube channel, including the FIA's situation with Toto and Susie Wolff. According to the Australian, Bernie Ecclestone, the former owner of Formula 1, was behind the allegations.

Windsor confirms these statements were said in jest at the start of a new live stream on YouTube. He does acknowledge having mentioned Ecclestone in this context but now adds that it was all not meant to be. He blames the media for misinterpreting his words and not recognising the smile.

"I just need to tidy up something from last week's live stream and that is that a few people, news agencies typically, which love to take quotes out of context and not only out of context in terms of the text that was there before and after the quote but also the tone in which it was said, the glint in the eye, the smile and the laugh," Windsor stated.

'Windsor was joking about Ecclestone'

"In the course of all that, I said that the whole thing had a bit of a sniff of Bernie's mischief about it. I said it with a glint in my eye, a laugh and a smile. That has been taken out of context, and I just want to say to Bernie that, of course I don't believe you had anything to do with it. He and I go back a long way. Over 50 years now of friendship. We've always had a laugh together and this was one of my laughs with him, but in this world of today, people do love to take things out of context and that's what happened. I just want to clarify that it was just a jokey comment, and of course, Bernie had nothing to do with anything at all," he concluded.

Incidentally, Windsor compliments himself because he had already predicted that the Wolff family investigation would come to nothing. According to the analyst, the FIA's compliance department would have been better off keeping any investigation quiet and not announcing it immediately. The matter is now closed for the FIA, although Toto Wolff has announced that he is investigating legal action against the motorsport federation.