Oct.18 (GMM) In ten days, Bernie Ecclestone will celebrate his 80th birthday.

But F1's ever-present F1 chief executive, commonly referred to as the sport's diminutive 'supremo', insists that he equates retirement with death.

Arriving for an interview with the sport's official website as well as the German Sunday newspaper Bild am Sonntag, he apologised for being 25 minutes late because he was "solving problems".

"If I stop working, I cannot solve problems any more," the Briton is quoted by the German newspaper.

"If I'm not solving problems, that's the beginning of the end," said Ecclestone. "So I work. And I like to work."

But no-one lives forever. Asked how the F1 teams should detect his successor on the horizon, the Briton answered: "I have no idea.

"They should probably look out for another used car dealer!"

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