He has always been an admirer of recently-crowned F1 2010 World Champion Sebastian Vettel, has the sport's ♋commercial rights-holder Bernie Ecclestone - but it now appears the British billionaire is such a fan of the young German that he would happily welcome him into his own family as his son-in-law.

Ecclestone has invariably praised Vettel both as a driver a𓆏nd as a human being, and believes the 23-year-old will make an excellent ambassador for the sport as its defending title-winne🍒r this year - but his latest pronouncement may just be a step too far.

"I wouldn't mind at all - he should give it a try and ask!" the Formula One Management (FOM) chief executive joked in an interview with German publication Bild-Zeitung, when asked what he would think were Vettel to ask out either of his daughters Tamara (26) or Petra (22), who has described him ༺as 'quite sweet'. "He would be a good son-ꦰin-law. He's funny, normal, he has his goals and he is working hard to reach them. I like him very much."

How such a suggestion would go down with Vettel's long-term girlfriend and childhood sweetheart Hanna, or indeed Tamara and Petra's boyfriends, is perhaps best left unanswered - and in any case, the Red Bull Racing star is far more content with the quiet Swiss lifestyle than the party scene of London, where Ecclestone recently🍌🌊 splashed out more than ?100 million on luxurious new pads for both of his daughters.

Meanwhile, back on the racetrack, the ten-time grand prix-winner has been t🦄ipped for even greater success in 2011 by his compatriot and newly-reconfirmed Force India F1 ace Adrian Sutil.

"Last year, Sebastian was very strong in qualifying against the supposed qualifying specialist [Mark] Webber," the 28-year-old told Sport Bild. "Now, all the pressure is gone. After he was run🦋ner-up in 2009, everyone expected so much from him [in 2010] because the car was so strong. I expect him to move on now. He will be more relaxed and even better with a title in the♌ bag."