Formula 1 On Sale; Does This Mean The End Of Road For Bernie Ecclestone?

Currently, F1 is controlled by CVC Capital Partners, a private equity firm that has 35 percent stake in Delta Topco, the company which owns Formula One Group. The Formula Group consists of Formula One Management and Formula One Administration.

CVC was planning to sell its stake in Delta Topco to Liberty Media Corporation, an US firm owned by American Tycoon John Malone. As per Sky Sports, the upcoming deal will be a precursor of Liberty's plan to acquire 100 percent stake in F1 shares, which will be based on the approval from FIA and its legislators and to publicly list Formula One on the New York stock exchange.

This sale could mean that the future of Bernie Ecclestone is unclear as of now. Ecclestone has been associated with F1 for more than 40 years and owns 5 percent stake in the Formula One Group. He has been instrumental in the popularity of F1 and remains to be seen if he will continue in the same post.

As for the sale to Liberty Media Corporation, the deal is yet to be confirmed as there are other interested parties still vying to take ownership of Formula One. As per Autosport, CVC is still negotiations with investment firm RSE Ventures and a parallel negotiationwith a Qatari consortium and an another unnamed private equity firm.