Ecclestone wants to run F1 for as long as he can

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has said that he wants to run the motor racing sport for as long as he can after he paid 60 million pounds to end his three-month bribery trial.

Ecclestone, who spoke for the first time since he avoided a possible 10-year prison sentence, said that he always believed he would walk away a free man, adding that it never honestly bothered him because he knew he was innocent.

Ecclestone went on trial in April, accused of paying German banker Gerhard Gribkowsky 26 million pounds to ensure that CVC, a private equity company he allegedly favoured, could buy Formula One, and he could remain in control of the sport, The BBC reported.

Ecclestone said that he was never bothered about the jail sentence because he had been sure it wouldn't happen. He added that the system in law is pretty fair and every now and again they get things wrong but normally, unless there's some political motive, it's all-OK.

The Formula One boss always denied wrongdoing, insisting that the payment had instead been the result of blackmail, to stop Gribkowsky making unfounded allegations about Ecclestone's tax affairs.

Ecclestone is now back running the sport on a full-time basis, the report added.