Ecclestone says 'chairman emeritus' an empty role

Former Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has admitted that he no longer has any influence on management of the sport, despite being given the title of "chairman emeritus" by its new ownership group.

Ecclestone, 86, was removed by Liberty Media as CEO in January in favor of Libert's Chase Carey (pictured at left, with Ecclestone, at last September's Singapore Grand Prix), after Liberty completed its takeover of F1.

"I can't do anything," Ecclestone told the UK Mail on Sunday. "Even the staff have been told they shouldn't talk to me. They want to get rid of the Bernie era: 'Let's get rid of Bernie's history.'"

While acknowledging some frustration at being sidelined from the sport he managed for decades, Ecclestone indicated he understood the reasons behind Liberty's decision to remove him, and said he was "envious" of the opportunities the sport's new management has.

"The way I look at it, if somebody buys a car, they want to drive it," he said. "They always say the same thing – they probably think it makes me happy but it doesn't: 'He has done a super job but we have to move on' – and they may be right."

"I knew CVC [F1's previous owner] wanted to sell the company – I was doing all I could to make sure the company was set up to make good profits in order that they could sell. I'm terribly envious of Chase, because he is in the lovely position of being able to do a lot of things I wanted to do and couldn't."