Court victory cost Ecclestone millions

Feb.24 (GMM) He may have won the court battle with Constantin Medien, but it still cost the F1 chief executive millions.

Amid the Gerhard Gribkowsky corruption affair, the German media company had pursued the embattled 83-year-old Briton Ecclestone for $140 million.

However, the case still cost Ecclestone millions.

"My costs are bloody expensive," he told F1 business journalist Christian Sylt. "The costs are in excess of 20 million pounds ($33m).

"I hope they will be able to pay," added Ecclestone.

And in separate comments published by The Times, he said: At least I don't have to pay someone 80 million pounds ($133m) or so, because we won that."

Ecclestone and his expensive lawyers are now preparing for a German criminal trial, set to begin in April.

"All we have to prove is Gribkowsky doesn't exactly always tell the truth," he told Sylt in comments published by the Daily Mail.