Ecclestone to stay in charge

The manufacturers, which include BMW, Ferrari (Fiat), Jaguar (Ford), Renault and Mercedes, all have vested interests in Formula 1 teams and want to take a share in SLEC, Ecclestone's holding company which owns the advertising and television rights for Formula 1.

"I will be around for several years yet," said Ecclestone, "but I have to think of the future for me and them [the manufacturers]. That is why we are talking. But I want to choose the timing of when I go and they want me to put things in place so that I have a successor we are all happy with."

German media group EMTV acquired 50 per cent of SLEC last summer and has an option to buy a further 25 per cent share, but the television company looks set to sell off its stake due to a plummeting share price.

The 'Big Five' are concerned that a force from outside F1 could buy EMTV's stake, leaving the sport in which they have all invested countless millions in the hands of a party unfamiliar with the intricacies of the world's third most watched spectacle.

"If I am no longer here, dead or whatever," said Ecclestone, "they [the five manufacturers] need to be in a position to say: 'This is the new guy that we want to run the business'."

Should the deal with the five manufacturers go through, which with Ecclestone's blessing looks highly likely, the teams on the grid without backing from a car-maker from the group could be in danger of being left out in the cold. Jordan, Prost, Arrows, BAR, Sauber and Minardi would not have any share in Formula 1.

To overcome this, all 11 teams in F1 have suggested that either a committee is set up to run the show or a chief executive officer be appointed, once Ecclestone finally retires.

"I think the manufacturers will go with a chief executive," said Ecclestone, "and I believe it has to be someone from inside the sport who knows the ins and outs of the business. Who that would be I don't know, but it is logical. I don't know who could do it the way that I do it. Maybe someone else would have a different style, but I think it is still an entrepreneurial job."