Has Bernie bought F1?

Two of the most highly sought and long-awaited UK registration plates were sold at auction late last month, but speculation continues to surround the identity of the buyers, after both were bought by anonymous phone call.

The plates, F1 and 1F, had not been made available on the open market until 24 June, but proved to be an instant attraction when auctioned by Bonhams at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on behalf of Essex County Council. The rumour mill naturally suggested that at least one of the plates could be the subject of a bidding war between F1 personnel, although few were actually present at Goodwood House for the sale.

First to go was 1F and, while generally regarded as the lesser of the two plates on offer, attracted solid interest, with bids beginning at a modest ?10,000 and initially rising by ?1000 at a time before the phone bids kicked in and upped the ante with a series of raises of ?5000 and then ?10,000. The hammer finally went down at ?130,000, but the buyer remained anonymous.

The highlight of the auction came when F1 was placed on the stand, with many among the expectant audience believing that plate would be bought by grand prix commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone, who has fought to copyright the 'F1' name.

This time the bidding opened at ?30,000 and rose quite sharply, jumping ?10,000 at a time. This time, it wasn't until the in-house bids exceeded ?100,000 that the telephone bids came into the equation. Gasps followed each successive announcement, but it didn't take long for the final bidding battle to narrow down to the 'phones. Even then, it took three bids - of ?150k, ?160k and finally ?170k - before the hammer fell.

The question now remains as to when and where the plates will turn up - Ecclestone's transport wasn't sporting F1 at Silverstone over the weekend - and who will be revealed as the new owners.