( CNN ) -- His reputation might be that of Formula One 's ruthless wheeler dealer , but come the season of goodwill Bernie Ecclestone likes to show a different side to his character . The 84-year-old billionaire 's annual Christmas card has often been a way for Ecclestone to get things off his chest and his 2014 offering was no exception as he took aim at a legal case that has cost him $ 100 million . The card depicts him handing over that sum of money to a highway robber , who is pointing a pistol at him . `` This is not a robbery , I am collecting for the Bavarian state , '' says the man on horseback while a cartoon figure of Ecclestone is seen clutching the sack of money . The greeting on the inside of the card contains says : `` Maybe now we can have a Formula One race in the really nice city of Munich ( state capital of Bavaria ) , Germany . '' Earlier this year , a German court agreed to end the bribery trial , in which Ecclestone stood accused , in exchange for a $ 100m settlement , with $ 99m going to the Bavarian state treasury and the remainder to a children 's charity . Ecclestone , who had strongly denied the charges , was later quoted as saying he was a `` bit of an idiot '' for paying out the huge sum , particularly as he believed he would eventually be cleared . Even by settling the 84-year-old was only left with a small dent -- he paid the $ 100m within a week -- in his reported $ 4 billion fortune . Money has often been a theme of previous Ecclestone 's Christmas cards . Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton was the butt of the F1 chief 's humor in 2012 after the driver 's surprise switch from McLaren to Mercedes . The card showed Hamilton jumping into a Mercedes car driven by Niki Lauda , with the passenger seat containing a large bag marked with a dollar sign . Though world champion Hamilton arguably might be having the last laugh given his recent drivers ' title triumph . Getting the tone right for an annual Christmas card is n't always easy to negotiate . Former British Premier Tony Blair has been widely ridiculed for his 2014 card , which shows him standing next to his wife Cherie but smiling in intense and uncomfortable fashion . `` The stuff of nightmares '' someone tweeted .
F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone shows his sense of humor . The sport has been in turmoil for years and the sport's governing body is struggling to find a new owner. Ecclestone had to pay $ 100m in legal settlement in Germany . 84-year-old recently re-appointed to F1 commercial board .