Reports of Bernie Ecclestone's demise may, once again, have been greatly exaggerated after the octogenarian ringleader of the F1 circus saw off the man who had been tipped to steal his crown.
Paul Walsh, the former chief executive of drinks giant Diageo, has reportedly turned down the role of chairman of F1's parent company, Delta Topco, "because he was not given sufficient assurances that he would have enough control", says the Daily Telegraph.
Walsh had been expected to replace current chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, who is in poor health, and use his powers to rein in Ecclestone. But he has now turned his back on the role after CVC Capital Partners, the sport's main shareholder, refused to cut Ecclestone adrift.
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"Walsh believed that he could work with Ecclestone, but only if he wielded the ultimate power," explains The Times. But CVC "is still afraid to wield the axe, even though Ecclestone is known to be seen as a main stumbling block to F1's future by many of the shareholders", says the paper.
F1 is still hunting a "senior business figure" to take the role, adds the Times, but it notes that the position comes with "the troublesome baggage of working with a chief executive who is regarded by some as a tyrannical figure and whose word in the sport is law". And there are fears that Walsh's decision may prompt other candidates to follow suit.
The timing could hardly have been worse for F1. "The news about Walsh comes amid unprecedented scrutiny over the way the sport is being run by Ecclestone, after a financial crisis which saw two teams - Marussia and Caterham - go bankrupt last season." explains the BBC.
It adds that Ecclestone has his own ideas about who should take over as chairman of the sport and says he has identified lawyer Sacha Woodward-Hill as a suitable candidate for the role.
Ecclestone has also made it clear that he has no intention of giving up control of the sport without a fight, and the Times reports that cost-cutting measures due to be discussed by an F1 working group this week are now unlikely to be pushed through "raising the prospect that this will be a long, hard winter for teams such as Force India, Lotus and Sauber".
