After a court in Munich announced that F1 CEO BERNIE ECCLESTONE would stand trial for "bribery and aiding and abetting breach of trust," the F1 BOD said that Ecclestone was "standing down as director with immediate effect but that he would continue" as CEO, according to Blitz & Bryant of the FINANCIAL TIMES. But Ecclestone said that he "remained as much in control ... as he has always been, despite the fallout from being sent for trial on bribery charges." A statement from the BOD said Ecclestone would be "subject to increased monitoring and control by the board." Additionally, Ecclestone must "get the approval for big contracts and other material business" from F1 Chair PETER BRABECK-LETMATHE and CVC Capital co-Chair DONALD MACKENZIE. Ecclestone said, "Nothing has changed" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 1/17). In London, Eason & Charter wrote Ecclestone has been "stripped of ultimate power" over F1. This is the "crucial moment in the history of F1: Ecclestone's rule over the sport has been total until now" (THETIMES.co.uk, 1/16). In N.Y., John Burns writes the court decision "poses a major off-track problem for Formula One as it enters an uncertain new era on the track." Many F1 insiders "see complex technical changes that will take effect this year as putting at risk the commercial and sporting success that the sport has achieved in recent decades under Ecclestone’s direction" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/17).
