Bernie Ecclestone 'deposed' as Formula 1 chief executive

Bernie Ecclestone has been "deposed" from his position as chief executive of Formula 1 (F1), after Liberty Media completed the takeover of the sport.

In a joint statement by Liberty Media, and Delta Topco, the parent company of Formula 1, they announced that Ecclestone will no longer be CEO. Instead, he has been offered the post of chairman emeritus.

Chase Carey has been appointed as the new chairman and CEO.

"I'm proud of the business that I built over the last 40 years and all that I have achieved with Formula 1, and would like to thank all of the promoters, teams, sponsors and television companies that I have worked with," Ecclestone said in the joint statement.

"I'm very pleased that the business has been acquired by Liberty and that it intends to invest in the future of F1. I am sure that Chase will execute his role in a way that will benefit the sport," he added.

In the same statement, Carey had kind words for Ecclestone. "I would like to recognise and thank Bernie for his leadership over the decades. The sport is what it is today because of him and the talented team of executives he has led, and he will always be part of the F1 family."

He continued: "Bernie's role as chairman emeritus befits his tremendous contribution to the sport and I am grateful for his continued insight and guidance as we build F1 for long-term success and the enjoyment of all those involved."

Carey also announced the appointments of Ross Brawn and Sean Bratches in the newly created roles of managing director, motor sports and managing director, commercial operations.

Brawn has a 40 year engineering and management career in motor racing, having won 22 World FIA Championships and the Le Mans 24 Hours. This includes six world titles with Ferrari and seven as part of Williams and Benetton.

Following the acquisition, Liberty Media will be renamed Formula One Group later this week. F1 will continue to remain based in London and Greg Maffei will be the deputy chair of the F1 board.

Separately, the German motorsport magazine Auto Motor und Sport interviewed Ecclestone before the official announcement, in which the 86-year-old said he was asked to resign by new F1 chairman Chase Carey.

F1's governing body, the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), approved the sale of the sport's commercial rights last week.

Liberty received the backing of their shareholders who approved a £6bn ($7.5bn) purchase from holding company CVC.

Ecclestone, who has enjoyed a 40-year career in F1, told the publication that he has been offered a new role as "a kind of honorary president".

"I was deposed today. This is official. I no longer run the company. My position has been taken by Chase Carey," he told Auto Motor und Sport.

"My new position is one of those American terms. It's something like an honorary president. I have this title now, even though I don't know what it means.

"My days in the office will be getting quieter now. Maybe I will attend a Grand Prix sometime in the future.

"I still have many friends in Formula 1. And I still have enough money to afford to attend a race."

Ecclestone has built the sport into a multi-billion pound empire, running the day-to-day operations for CVC. In September he announced that he would stay on for another three years in his position.

The takeover by Liberty began in September last year.