Bernie Ecclestone will travel to the Hungaroring today in his chauffeur-driven limousine, along the road the Hungarians named after the man who has run Formula One as a personal fiefdom for almost three decades.

The sport without Ecclestone is unimaginable but Max Mosley, the president of the FIA, the governing body, and his running mate as they built the sport into one of the wealthiest in the world, has raised that prospect for the first time. Mosley suggests that Ecclestone could be the stumbling block to the sport's future.

As he rehabilitates himself from his anguished legal action against a national newspaper, Mosley has turned back to the business of shaping a Formula One future that appears to exclude Ecclestone. Vultures are circling as speculation grows that CVC Capital Partners, the private equity group that owns 75 per cent of the commercial operation, is set to sell up.

CVC bought control over Formula One's lucrative commercial rights two years ago after a period of turbulence when it seemed that Ecclestone had lost his grip. But the billionaire was kept on by CVC as chief executive of Formula One Management (FOM), simply because he pulls every string in the Formula One paddock.

But a sale could spell the end of the reign of Ecclestone, who is 78 in October, according to Mosley, 68, who confirmed this week that he is standing down from his post next year. He said: “If a sovereign wealth fund came along with a huge amount of money, then CVC would be tempted, but I suspect it would be getting to the stage where Bernie is replaced. If someone wanted to buy it, the whole business depends on a man who is 78 years old.” Mosley believes that the answer is for the FIA to take greater control over the sport and force a redistribution of wealth. Ecclestone and CVC pay the teams half of Formula One's income, but Mosley wants that increased to 75 per cent - a figure that might make CVC wonder whether it is worth holding on to Formula One. CVC hardly needs it: the company owns blue-chip brands in Britain such as Debenhams and the Saga-AA group.

Mosley said: “Eventually, I think we will agree a compromise while they [CVC] abandon a lot of control that they have over the sporting side and, in return, we [the FIA] will give them much greater freedom to sell the business to whomever they want.”