Formula One supremo, Bernie Ecclestone, has been forced to step down from his role on the F1 board following confirmation by German prosecutors that he will stand trial on bribery charges in April this year.

Prosecutors confirmed that criminal proceedings will be launched against Ecclestone after he allegedly bribed German banker Gerhard Gribkowsky with £27 million in 2005 to ensure that F1 would be sold to a private equity group of his choosing – CVC Capital. Gribkowsky is currently serving an eight-and-a-half-year jail sentence for accepting payment from Ecclestone and Bambino, the Ecclestone family trust.

Ecclestone will face charges of bribery and incitement to breach of trust which would almost certainly result in a jail term if he were to be found guilty but he continues to vow that he’s innocent and has made it clear that he will “vigorously defend the case”. The F1 chief claims that payment to Gribkowsky was never a bribe, but rather a payment made in response to being “shaken down” by the German, who Eccelstone claims threatened to report him to the British tax authorities.

A statement released by F1’s holding company Delta Topco Limited said: “After discussion with the Board, Mr Ecclestone has proposed and the Board has agreed that until the case has been concluded, he will step down as a director with immediate effect, thereby relinquishing his board duties and responsibilities until the case has been resolved.

“It is in the best interests of both the F1 business and the sport that Mr Ecclestone should continue to run the business on a day to day basis, but subject to increased monitoring and control by the Board. Mr Ecclestone has agreed to these arrangements.”

The statement went on to say that, ‘The approval and signing of significant contracts and other material business arrangements shall now be the responsibility of the Chairman, Mr Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, and Deputy Chairman, Mr Donald Mackenzie.”

Ecclestone has ruled the sport for over four decades now and remains the commercial rights holder of F1. He will be obliged to attend the trial or face further charges.