Bernie Ecclestone no longer F1 chief executive - statement

Bernie Ecclestone has confirmed he is no longer the chief executive of Formula One (F1) after almost 40 years in charge, it has been reported.

The motorsport veteran was quoted by German magazine Auto, Motor and Sport as saying - "I was deposed today.

"This is official, I do not run the company any more."

The news was yet to be officially confirmed by Mr Ecclestone or Liberty Media, which is expected to take control of the sport this week after snapping up shares from private equity firm CVC (Taiwan OTC: 4744.TWO - news) last year.

His position had been in doubt since the sale of the sport's commercial rights to Liberty - with Sky News reporting at the weekend that the new owners were preparing to oust 86-year old Ecclestone .

City Editor Mark Kleinman also revealed that Liberty was preparing a wider boardroom shake-up as it looked to make radical changes to the administration of F1.

Its plans include making F1 teams shareholders in the sport, expanding its commercial rights through new media and potentially changing the race structure to make it appeal to a younger fan base.

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