Ecclestone reappointed to F1 board

F1's commercial tsar formally stepped down at the beginning of the year, while he fought bribery charges in Germany relating to the sale of F1 in 2006.

The charges were dropped when Ecclestone agreed a $100million settlement in the summer, and Ecclestone insisted his control of the sport had remained unchanged while the case proceeded.

The sport's owner - CVC Capital Partners - announced on Thursday that it had reappointed Ecclestone, 84, to the board of the Formula One Group, and that he would continue in his position as Group CEO.

CVC also confirmed that former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, who represented the Scuderia as a non-executive director of the Formula One Group between 2012 and 2014, would be reappointed in a similar role.

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne replaced di Montezemolo as Ferrari president in the autumn.

CVC has also appointed Paul Walsh as a non-executive director.

Walsh was formerly CEO of alcoholic drinks company Diageo and is currently chairman of catering company Compass Group, as well as a non-executive director at American courier service FedEx and domestic goods giant Unilever.