Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has denied insulting Africa after the sport's governing body voted to allow Max Mosley to stay on as president despite a sado-masochistic sex scandal.

The Daily Express quoted Ecclestone as saying after the June 3 vote in Paris that "just because he (Mosley) got a few more votes from Africa doesn't mean the King of Spain will want to shake his hand".

The reported remarks triggered a written complaint from Kenyan Automobile Association general secretary David Njoroge, who is also a senior member of the International Automobile Federation (FIA).

Njoroge, who is a trustee of the London-based FIA Foundation for the Automobile and Society, said the African members took "great exception in what is clearly derogatory, demeaning and uncalled for attacks on Africa.

"In more than 30 years of my close relationship with AIT/FIA, this is the first time to come across such subtle and thinly veiled attacks based on ethnicity," he added in correspondence with Ecclestone published on Formula One's official website on Friday.

"We expect withdrawal and apology to Africa if there was no motive behind these remarks."

Ecclestone, who had said before the vote that Mosley should step down, replied that "the comments concerning Africa were not from me".

However he added that the Kenyan complaint had prompted him to look more closely at the African representation within the FIA.

Ecclestone pointed out that while the continent had 36 member clubs, he could find only 24 with voting rights in the FIA and some of them represented as few as 200 individual members.

Ecclestone compared that to the American Automobile Club (AAA), which he said had 43 million members in the United States but only one vote.

"I think the same applies to South America Region 4 which has 18 countries with a total of 505,000 members but 18 votes," he added.

"This is the structure of the FIA and is not the fault of the clubs that voted. Had I been a president of one of the clubs, I would have voted in support of Max being loyal to the FIA and the benefits it provides.

"I hope that we will be able to bring back Formula One to Africa in the not too distant future," Ecclestone concluded.

Mosley, who faced calls to resign after the News of the World tabloid published photographs and details in March of his participation in what has been described as a Nazi-style orgy with prostitutes, won the confidence vote 103-55.