Zak Brown could succeed Ecclestone - report

Mar.14 (GMM) F1 could be poised for a big change at the top, a leading correspondent has claimed.

Luis Vasconcelos, writing for Finland's Turun Sanomat newspaper, claims sources have told him Zak Brown could be set to take over from Bernie Ecclestone.

American Brown is well known in F1 as the head of Just Marketing, the leading sponsorship agency representing several high-profile F1 team backers.

A turning point for Ecclestone, claims Vasconcelos, was late last year, when Ecclestone was refusing to give in to Renault's demands for more income.

It is claimed the F1 chief executive was overruled by CVC's Donald Mackenzie in order to guarantee the French carmaker stays in formula one.

The report also claimed that, if he is to be replaced, Ecclestone's preferred successor is Niki Lauda.

But Lauda, currently the Mercedes team boss, said in an interview with the German newsmagazine Focus that he is critical of recent goings-on in formula one.

"We should negotiate behind closed doors and then present a solution," he said, referring to talks about the future of the sport.

Rumblings about changes at the top of F1 have been circulating for some time, with another respected correspondent, Mark Hughes, hinting at it in a new column for the Sunday times.

"A vintage season of on-track action would do much to divert attention from the dysfunction behind the scenes," he said.

"But it feels like we are nearing the end of an era, even if we don't know what the new one will look like."