» Ecclestone: F1 ruined my marriage

On the eve of his 81st birthday, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has admitted that the breakdown of his marriage was caused by his “intensive” involvement in running Formula 1.

The British billionaire was married to former fashion model Slavica Radić for over 25 years; the pair separated in early 2009.

In a typically frank interview, the usually private Ecclestone opened up about his private life when talking with the German-language Die Welt newspaper.

“I have worked very, very hard for Formula 1 and probably so intensively that it destroyed my marriage,” he admitted.

He added that his “nine to six, seven days a week” work routine was a point of conflict for he an Slavica, with whom he had two daughters, Tamara (27) and Petra (22).

“[Slavica] was not happy about it. I tortured her with my work for 25 years and now she travels around the world like there’s no tomorrow. She’s trying to catch up,” he joked.

When asked if he ever took a break from the rigours of his role running the show that is Formula 1, he said: “Very rarely, and not for long anyway. Ten days off was the most I’ve done in 50 years. I don’t need to rest.”

[Original image via Reuters]