Bernie Ecclestone started out as a simple second-hand car salesman and went on to transform Formula One motor-racing into one of the most profitable sports in the world.
German prosecutors on Wednesday indicted the British magnate on a bribery charge, but the 82-year-old has refused to resign as Formula One boss, despite facing a trial and a possible prison sentence.
However, the prospect of having to find a replacement for Ecclestone, on whose F1 decisions hang billion of dollars, sent shivers through the motor racing fraternity.
"F1 is what it is thanks to Bernie Ecclestone, to the way he has built this sport over the past 35 years," said his compatriot Christian Horner, team principal at world champions Red Bull, when asked about a possible succession.
"Everything we see here is based on what he did and succeeded in doing. I think that without him we would have big problems."
Despite his age, Ecclestone has brushed off suggestions that he is soon to retire and has insisted that his legal woes will not lead him to resign.
"I don't see why I should do that, I will do what I have always done: keep working and do my job," Ecclestone told German newspaper Bild.
Ecclestone has been charged by Munich prosecutors in relation to a $44 million (33.6 million euro) payment he made to German banker Gerhard Gribkowsky which was linked to the sale of the Formula One rights in 2006.
Dubbed "Napoleon" due to his 1.63-metre (five foot, four inch) stature and firm control over Formula One, Ecclestone was valued by Forbes magazine at $3.8 billion in March 2013, making him one of the richest 500 people in the world.
