The collection is expected to fetch hundreds of millions of pounds, with immaculate examples of some of the most famous Formula 1 cars.

Ecclestone, now 94 years old, said he did not want to burden his wife – FIA sporting vice-president for South America Fabiana Flosi – with selling the cars once he died.

“All the cars I have bought over the years have fantastic race histories and are rare works of art,” said Ecclestone.

“I love all of my cars but the time has come for me to start thinking about what will happen to them should I no longer be here, and that is why I have decided to sell them.

“After collecting and owning them for so long, I would like to know where they have gone and not leave them for my wife to deal with should I not be around.

“A grand prix and, in particular, a Formula 1 car is far more important than any road car or other form of race car, as it is the pinnacle of the sport, and all the cars I have bought over the years have fantastic race histories.

“Having collected what are the best F1 cars dating back to the start of the sport, I have now decided to move them on to new homes that will treat them as I have and look after them as precious works of art.”

The list of cars includes examples driven by F1 legends Michael Schumacher, Nikki Lauda, Stirling Moss, and Nelson Piquet.

The oldest example in the collection is a 1931 Bugatti Type 5 and the newest is the 2002 championship-winning Ferrari.

The collection features 18 cars from the Scuderia, including the famous 1949 Thin Wall Special previously owned by Vanwall founder Tony Vandervell.

A whopping 28 cars from Brabham are being offered for the first time, including the 1981 and 1983 championship-winning cars.

Perhaps the most famous car in the Brabham haul being offered is the 1978 BT46B ‘Fan Car’ that was ultimately banned.

“Because Bernie has retained ownership of the Brabhams since they were new, and many of those cars have not been seen for decades, people can forget quite how special a team Brabham was,” said dealer Tom Hartley.

“Brabham scored 22 Formula 1 Grand Prix wins, 24 Formula 1 Grand Prix pole positions, 25 Formula 1 Grand Prix fastest laps, and two Formula 1 World Championships under Bernie’s tenure. The team was also very innovative, fitting carbon brakes to its cars in the 1970s, and was the first to introduce in-race refuelling.