The former head of Formula 1 about the gun found in his luggage: “I haven’t had PR for a long time”

Former Formula 1 general promoter Bernie Ecclestone jokingly said that the incident at the airport in Campinas (Brazil), where he was interrogated about the illegal possession of weapons, is part of a PR.

On Thursday it was reported that 91-year-old Ecclestone was detained while boarding a private jet bound for Switzerland because of a gun found in luggage after a search. The 91-year-old Briton paid a bail of 6,060 Brazilian reais ($1,260) and traveled safely to his destination.

I haven’t had any PR lately and I thought I should do something to get it.

I wasn’t arrested. They wanted a deposit in local currency, which we didn’t have. Therefore, another drama arose in an attempt to find money. I was leaving the country, I had no local money.

I was told that a gun could help if someone tried to rob me or something like that. And I bought it from some guy. The weapon was in my house. I took it out when guests came to me, we joked. It was never going to be fired, it had no bullets in it, so I didn’t bother to register it. I didn’t know it was necessary.

It’s good that they took him away, because if I flew to Portugal, and they would have found him, this would be another problem, ”Reuters quotes Ecclestone.