Bernie Ecclestone will not be removed from his role as chief executive of Formula One for the time being at least, according to CVC Capital, the private equity company that operates the motor-racing championship.

The Guardian newspaper quoted a source close to CVC as saying that there were no plans to change the leadership of F1 despite Ecclestone facing a bribery trial this summer. “We don't have any changes planned at the moment,” the source said. “The board constantly reviews facts and circumstances and the current position is that no changes are planned.”

The upcoming trial in Munich, Germany will start in April and is expected to run until September. A related damages claim filed by media company Constantin Medien against Bernie Ecclestone was rejected last month, but a UK High Court judge did say that he had paid a bribe amid the sale of the motor-racing business in 2005.

The source said that CVC would base its final decision on Ecclestone’s future on the outcome of the trial in Munich, rather than the high court ruling. “People have come out of the woodwork making offers thinking that it is opportunistic to do so around this court case but the proof of the pudding is that no one has sold anything,” the source added to the newspaper. “If people were running for the door you would have seen some share sales, but not one share has traded and I think people believe in the fundamental value of this business.”