Two months ago, after news broke that Bernie Ecclestone had been unceremoniously booted upstairs with the fancy title of "chairman emeritus" by the incoming owner of Formula 1's commercial rights, Liberty Media, speculation abounded that it was the last F1 would see of the 86-year-old.
Such suggestions were fuelled a week later by news that Ecclestone and various co-directors of the holding company had cashed in tranches of shares. This pointed to Bernie becoming disillusioned with the direction taken by the company he built he had built over a period of 40 years, and was phasing himself out.
This writer, though, saw it differently, speculating that a possible showdown between Ecclestone and F1's new management team was looming, concluding with "[Bernie] knows the business inside out (and outside in, to boot) and has a head start over his (possible) adversaries should push come to shove-back. And, this time, he has nothing to lose..."