Ecclestone: There are people who want to buy F1

Bernie Ecclestone has revealed that there are two buyers who have agreed on a price to buy Formula 1 from current owners CVC.

In a Daily Mail report Ecclestone said with regards to the sale of Formula 1, "I think CVC will make a decision on the sale sooner or later."

"There are people who want to buy," he revealed. "Actually, two of the people have agreed the price. It’s just a question of whether CVC wants to sell or not."

As for the buyers, the 85 year old billionaire said, "You don’t know what’s going to happen until somebody buys and you see what they are like. How do you know if you will get on with them?"

China Media Capital and RSE Ventures – the US group, headed by US billionaire Stephen Ross, which owns the Miami Dolphins football team - are reportedly ready to bid.

Also on the radar are Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, who have big financial interests in global sport have also emerged as potential buyers.

Daily Mail reports that CVC bought its F1 stake in 2006 for $2-billion and over the past decade it has halved its stake to 35 per cent, but has gained $4.4-billion through share sales and profits from the business.

While the sport generates huge revenues, for their owners, a number of F1 race teams teeter on the brink of financial ruin.

Three teams which came into the sport in 2010 - HRT, Caterham and Marussia - folded while a number of teams are known to be struggling to make ends meet.

But Ecclestone has no sympathy for the plight of these teams, "People ask me what is frustrating. What is frustrating is looking after people if they can’t stop themselves from spending money."

"Last year we gave a few teams, including Manor, an advance on their prize money. The team bosses are not business people," said Ecclestone who is reportedly worth over $3-billion.