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F1 ownership set to change 'this year' - Ecclestone

Bernie Ecclestone says the ownership of F1 is set to change "this year" as three parties show an interest in purchasing the sport.

CVC Capital Partners is currently Formula One's controlling shareholder, with reports earlier this year claiming CVC was in talks to sell a stake to an investor group led by Qatar and RSE Ventures, the holding company which owns the Miami Dolphins American football team.

While not naming any potential new owners, Ecclestone told the Camp Beckenbauer global summit on Tuesday he expects to see a change in ownership soon.

“Our shareholders at the moment are in such a position where they have to lose some of their shares or all of them shortly, that’s the way things are set up for them," Ecclestone said. "There has been a lot of interest and I would say there’s three at the moment parties that I’m surprised if one of them doesn’t buy very shortly.”

When asked what sort of timeframe he would put on the ownership of F1 changing hands, Ecclestone replied: “This year.”

However, Ecclestone expects to remain involved in the running of the sport, telling AP: "The people that I've spoken to ... have asked me if I would stay."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.