Bernie Ecclestone’s marriage mystery

Has Bernie Ecclestone (pictured), the pint-sized head of Formula One racing, split up with his wife? The Daily Mail reports that Slavica, who is 28 years younger than her husband, moved her posessions out of their London home while Bernie, 78, was watching Lewis Hamilton win the F1 tournament in Brazil two weeks ago.

They say she is talking to lawyers. However, Ecclestone, who is said to have amassed a personal fortune of £2,4bn, denies this. He says: "The reason she has moved out is because they are doing building work next door [to their home] and it's impossible to live in the house. She can't stand the noise."

Slavica, with whom Ecclestone has two daughters, Petra and Tamara, seems unwilling to confirm his explanation and says:"I don't want to say anything. You can talk to my husband."

If the couple do split it will be an unusual divorcecase because Ecclestone has already made over the bulk of his fortune to Slavica for tax reasons, which means he will have to sue her for a financial settlement