F1 manufacturer buy-in gains momentum

The five manufacturers - Renault, BMW, Ferrari (Fiat), Jaguar (Ford) and Mercedes - want to buy a share in Ecclestone's family-owned holding company SLEC, which controls the commercial aspects of F1, in order to have a bigger say in the running of a sport in which they have invested heavily.

The 'Big Five' first publicly expressed an interest in buying a stake in SLEC last summer. At the time, it was believed that the group would buy part of Ecclestone's stake and part of the stake held by beleagured media group EMTV.

However, with EMTV's share price tumbling, a complete buy-out of the German company's stake, plus the further 25 per cent that EMTV can be contractually obliged to purchase from Ecclestone, could now be an attractive option.

Ecclestone has always maintained that he will hold the reins of F1 for "as long as he can". But according to reports in today's Times newspaper, the manufacturers want to gain a foothold in SLEC as soon as possible in order to draw up plans for a succession and even allow Ecclestone to step back from the sport he has effectively ruled for over 20 years.

"We want things to happen as soon as possible," Ecclestone told the Times. "These car companies have put an enormous investment into Formula 1 and they want to make sure their money and the sport is safe."

The manufacturers' group, with Fiat chief executive Paolo Canterella at the helm and Mercedes board member Jurgen Hubbert as a prime-mover, is said to have already met with Ecclestone to draw up plans for the succession.