Bernie Ecclestone, who praised Adolf Hitler for his ability to “get things done” in an interview with The Times, faces becoming a total outcast in Germany just as the country’s grand prix approaches.

The Formula One chief has already bowed to pressure to stay away from the formal opening of a leisure centre at the Nürburgring, Germany’s historic race track. It is still uncertain whether Mr Ecclestone, 78, will attend the race at the circuit this weekend.

If he does, he is likely to be given the cold shoulder by politicians and race officials. But if Mr Ecclestone stays away, motor racing insiders say it will be tantamount to admitting that his position has become untenable.

He has tried to dig himself out of trouble, first by shrugging off criticism and then by attempting to clarify matters, but has only made things worse in the eyes of his critics.

A spokesman for Nürburgring GmbH, the company that runs the track, said Mr Ecclestone had called off a visit tomorrow after a phone conversation with organisers. No further explanation was given but none was needed: any kind of public approval of Hitler, however heavily qualified, is taboo in Germany. A newsreader, Eva Herman, had to leave a talk show and was later sacked for giving Hitler the credit for Germany’s autobahns.

Yet it was precisely this line of defence that Mr Ecclestone used in the Thunderer column in The Times yesterday. In his original interview he had remarked on Hitler’s ability to “get things done”. This, he admitted, needed further explanation.

“During the 1930s Germany was facing an economic crisis but Hitler was able to rebuild the economy, building the autobahns and German industry. That was all I meant when I referred to him getting things done. I’m an admirer of good leadership,” Mr Ecclestone wrote.

In Germany, this was read as an attempt to mitigate Hitler’s crimes, especially as some of the roads were constructed using forced labour.

Mr Ecclestone has hired Finsbury, the public relations firm with links to Labour. It was founded by Roland Rudd, who boasts Lord Mandelson as godfather to one of his children. Yesterday the company issued a statement expressing their new client’s regrets over angering Jewish opinion.