Bratches' F1 exit to be announced this week

F1's commercial director Sean Bratches is set to leave the sport.

We reported last September that an announcement could be "imminent", with Liberty's Chase Carey and Ross Brawn staying put but Bratches set to leave.

Mark Kleinman, Sky News' City editor, believes an announcement could now be made "as early as" this week.

"Sources said that Mr Bratches was unlikely to be directly replaced, with his responsibilities being divided among other senior executives at the company," he said.

Last November, F1 CEO Carey admitted that attracting new sponsors to the sport had been "slower and probably harder than I would have expected".

A spokesman for Formula 1 would not comment.

The bulk of Bratches' career was spent at the American sports channel ESPN and its owner, The Walt Disney Company.