Aus GP boss to retire if Ecclestone steps down

Australian grand prix boss Ron Walker has promised to step down if Bernie Ecclestone is no longer in charge of formula one.

Embroiled in the ever-deepening Gerhard Gribkowsky corruption scandal, Ecclestone warned last week that his demise could cost the sport several key races.

"A few (race promoters) said to me, ’if you’re not there, we’re not there’," F1 chief executive Ecclestone said. "That’s what the danger is."

Walker, the chief of the Melbourne race promoter Australian Grand Prix Corporation and a long-time Ecclestone ally, is the first to put his hand up.

"When Bernie retires, then I will retire as well; and a number of other longstanding promoters that have been friends of Bernie’s will do also," he told F1 business journalist Christian Sylt, published in Autoweek.

Walker clarified that the promoter exodus would not mean those countries necessarily lose their grands prix.

But he added: "When Bernie goes, formula one will change. You won’t recognise the sport after Bernie goes because he has done it in his own way as unique as he can."