Bernie Ecclestone: F1's puppet master holds on to power

very time Bernie Ecclestone has been under threat, he has typically reverted to humor.

After the Formula One supremo was robbed and knocked unconscious by muggers, who got away with his luxury watch,  with the slogan "See what people will do for a Hublot."

And in August 2014, when he escaped a possible 10-year jail term over bribery charges by paying a $100 million fine to German authorities to end the trial early, his .

The character stated: "This is not a robbery. I am collecting for the Bavarian state."

For months, rumors have circulated that the 85-year-old's stranglehold on the sport was splintering, but it is telling that there has been little to no reversion to humor during that time -- perhaps a sign of how confident he was of winning the power struggle.

Amid such speculation, F1's great survivor remains in charge. The elite motorsport's new owner , has announced that Ecclestone will be CEO for another three years.

It continues his remarkable four-decade run at the helm of one of the world's most globally watched sports -- F1 claims only the Olympics and football's World Cup have bigger audiences.

Regardless of how the coming months play out, how has he managed to hold on to power so long despite an ever-changing list of owners over recent decades?

Two-time grand prix winner Johnny Herbert recalls first rubbing shoulders with Ecclestone in his debut season in F1, driving for the Benetton team in 1989.

"Sir Stirling Moss had it spot on the other day when he said F1 needs a dictator," Herbert told CNN. "That's Bernie to a 'T.'

"People talk about him being the great survivor and of his longevity in the sport, and in some ways that's remarkable, but I don't know how realistic it was the many times when it was claimed his tenure at the top of the sport was over.

"If anything, that was simply stirred up by people with an ax to grind against him."