For 40 years Bernie Ecclestone bestrode Formula One as a diminutive dictator. He walked into one of the rooms in his Knightsbridge offices in late evening, linked up with the sport's new American owners Liberty Media, and a reign that regularly seemed impregnable came was over. The 86-year-old Ecclestone has been on borrowed time since Liberty Media announced in September that it was buying the sport from CVC Capital Partners, a private equity firm. The deal with Liberty Media was conducted behind Ecclestone's back by CVC chairman Donald Mackenzie, and sprung on Ecclestone at the Italian Grand Prix. Ecclestone was never short of a controversial opinion, saying that woman drivers' overalls should be white like domestic appliances.

Source: New Zealand Herald January 23, 2017 22:12 UTC