After almost 30 years of control, Ecclestone now faces two major challenges to his hegemony, reports The Guardian newspaper.
The first comes from the three banks - JP Morgan, Lehman Brothers and Bayerische Landesbank - who between them control 75 per cent of SLEC, the ultimate parent company of Formula One which owns the lucrative television and commercial rights.
The other 25 per cent is owned by Bambino Holdings, an Ecclestone family trust.
Today, Judge Park will rule on whether the banks should have voting rights on the board of Formula One Holdings, the company that controls Ecclestone's complex business empire.
Should the court rule in the banks' favour, it could signal the beginning of the end for Ecclestone; should it rule against, the battle for control of Formula One's multi-million-dollar income will require a trial hearing which could last many months.
The banks took the case to dispute Ecclestone's recent appointment of two directors of FOH. The banks claim they have been deprived of key voting rights to match their stake in the sport's parent company, which they acquired after the collapse of the German media giant Kirch.
Under the current arrangement the banks have the right to see the SLEC accounts, attend board meetings and benefit from revenue streams but, according to Ecclestone, nothing else.
They are anxious to win that control before the Concorde agreement - which binds the teams into competing in the world championship - expires in 2007.
The banks are fearful that after that date Ecclestone would be free to negotiate a new agreement with the teams that would cut them off from the sport's revenue streams and offer no chance to recoup their $1.6billion (£823million) investment in Formula One.
That scenario presumes that there will be a world championship to negotiate over, which presents Ecclestone with his second major challenge: the teams themselves.
Under the umbrella of the Grand Prix World Championship, the teams have begun the process of setting up a rival series to Ecclestone's official one and last Wednesday GPWC made a presentation to a group of circuit owners. Those represented were Spa, NC
