Ecclestone illness halts bribery trial

The brakes were applied to Bernie Ecclestone’s corruption trial on Tuesday.

The F1 chief executive is appearing once or twice per week in Munich for the court proceedings, in which he is charged with bribing the jailed banker Gerhard Gribkowsky.

But as the trial resumed on Tuesday, the 83-year-old Briton’s lawyers asked the judge for an adjournment, as Ecclestone is suffering from a bad cold.

German publications like Bild and Handelsblatt - adding that Ecclestone’s voice was also hoarse - published photos of the unwell-looking F1 supremo repeatedly coughing in court.

After two hours, the judge agreed to the adjournment until Wednesday, and told Ecclestone he appeared tired.

"I’m ok," Ecclestone replied.

But a court spokesperson told SID news agency that Ecclestone was examined by doctors and a medical certificate was issued.

In fact, Tuesday was arguably a good day for Ecclestone, with a public prosecutor appearing as a witness and admitting Gribkowsky had told a range of "fluctuating stories" to explain his sudden fortune years ago.

DPA news agency said Ecclestone’s lawyers were "visibly pleased" when that testimony was given.