BERNIE ECCLESTONE has backed Donald Trump to win the US election - so he can cosy up to his pal Vladimir Putin.

The Formula One boss is already chums with the controversial Russian President and now wants to see Trump win power.

3 Bernie Ecclestone wants Donald Trump to become the next US president Credit: Getty Images When quizzed if the tycoon turned politician had a chance of winning the election on November 8, the 85-year-old said it would be good for the world if he won.

Ecclestone said: "I hope so. It'd be good for the world if he won.

"Trump would want to cosy up to him [Putin] for sure, and he'd be right to do that, which would be good for the world.

"Trump is the sort of guy that if he maybe thought he'd made a little bit of a mistake, would find a way out.

"He wouldn't want to say, 'well, that's what I've done and I'm sticking to it, and I don't give a damn,' which is what the other people in America would be like.

"With Putin, he says he's going to do something, he gets on it, does it. That is a super quality."

3 Bernie Ecclestone and Russian leader Vladimir Putin are close mates Credit: EPA

3 Bernie Ecclestone enjoys a good relationship with controversial Vladimir Putin Credit: Reuters Meanwhile, Ecclestone, who has been retained as F1's CEO despite the £6.5bn takeover by American firm Liberty Media, has raised doubts about the future of the British GP.

He added: "Silverstone is not, I'd say, super-safe - quite the opposite. These circuits don't need a lot of money to make them safe.

"It's disappointing to think that all these countries spend a lot of money trying to get the Olympics, which, obviously, is not the easiest thing to do, and nobody makes any money out of.

"Yet, for the small amount of money they could [invest] in a Formula One race, they don't want to do it...the two races we've lost which I'm genuinely upset about were India and Turkey. I was delighted with Baku. People said I was completely mad."