FORMULA One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone goes on trial for bribery in Germany this week in a case that threatens to end his long reign as the commercial boss of the motor sport.
Prosecutors in Munich have charged Mr Ecclestone, 83, with bribing jailed former German banker Gerhard Gribkowsky to smooth the sale eight years ago of a stake in Formula One to private equity firm CVC.
CVC co-chairman Donald Mackenzie has said he will fire Mr Ecclestone if he is found guilty.
Briton Mr Ecclestone, a former car salesman who became a billionaire building the sport into a global business over four decades, denies wrongdoing.
He could face 10 years in jail if convicted.
The case opens in Munich on Thursday and run until at least September.
Despite his age, Mr Ecclestone attends almost every Grand Prix and remains central to the sport's commercial success. He has always dismissed talk of retirement and there is no obvious replacement.
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