Formula One too risky for me to invest in, says Ecclestone

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Ecclestone is concerned that because of the recession, countries that host the races could be unable to pay their F1 royalty fees.

In a statement tantamount to a FTSE 100 boss admitting he would not buy his own company's shares, he told the Evening Standard the problem was so bad that he would not personally buy a stake in F1's $2.4 billion (£1.6 billion) debt for fear of default. "I don't know if I would buy that debt," he said.

Countries pay Ecclestone's business to host the race. Payment is generally made or guaranteed by the host country's biggest banks. However, Ecclestone said: "About a year ago I'd have said that a guarantee with a bank is a guarantee, because nothing is going to go wrong. But think of all the supposedly gilt-edged' banks that have gone under since then."

A host's inability to pay could have an impact on F1's ability to pay its $270 million annual interest on the huge debt run up by the $2.4 billion leveraged buyout of the business by private equity house CVC in 2006.

According to F1's industry monitor, Formula Money, race hosting fees bring in around a third of the sport's $1.1 billion revenues.