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Bernie Ecclestone: I don’t see what’s different about being a father at 89

The baby, due in the summer, will be his first boy as the billionaire has three grown-up daughters.
The baby, due in the summer, will be his first boy as the billionaire has three grown-up daughters.

Bernie Ecclestone has confirmed he will be a father again at 89 – saying it would make no “difference” if he was 29.

The former Formula 1 chief’s fourth child will be his first with wife Fabiana Flosi.

The baby, his first boy, is due in the summer.

“I don’t see there’s any difference between being 89 and 29,” Ecclestone told the PA news agency.

Tycoon Bernie Ecclestone and his wife Fabiana Flosi
Tycoon Bernie Ecclestone and his wife Fabiana Flosi (Nick Ansell/PA)

“You’ve got the same problems I suppose. It’s alright,” the tycoon, who turns 90 in October, added.

Asked if the couple were excited, he said: “Yes of course, obviously!”

The pair, who tied the knot in 2012, are at their farm in Brazil, where Flosi is from.

Ecclestone said: “We’re fine… We’re in Brazil at the moment so we have to wait a little while and see whether this little one is going to happen in Brazil or in England.”

The billionaire has three grown-up daughters, Deborah, Tamara, and Petra, as well as grandchildren, from two previous marriages.

“Everybody is very pleased. They’re all happy,” he said of the family’s response.

Asked what kind of father he was going to be, he told PA: “We don’t know, probably better than before, probably a bit more relaxed!”

And Ecclestone added: “It’s too early for names.”

Ecclestone told Swiss newspaper Blick about becoming a father again: “After my Formula 1 time, we also had enough time to practise.”