Women drivers are not physically able to drive quickly enough in Formula One, boss Bernie Ecclestone suggested at a conference in London on Tuesday.

"I don't know whether a woman would physically be able to drive an F1 car quickly, and they wouldn't be taken seriously," the 85-year-old told an audience at Advertising Week Europe. But he predicted a rise in female chief executives, saying: "Women are more competent and they don't have massive egos."

There are currently no female drivers in Formula One, with test driver Susie Wolff, who retired last November, the last woman to be employed in a driving capacity by an F1 team. But women have enjoyed greater success at the boardroom level, with Claire Williams notably the current deputy team principal at Williams.