Formula One's postponed flotation could be relaunched later this year, the sport's commercial supremo, Bernie Ecclestone, said on Wednesday.

"Last year I thought that the markets were not ready, but now it is getting more likely that there is an opportunity," the 82-year-old British billionaire told the official formula1.com website ahead of Sunday's Australian season opener. "In the next three months or so, somebody will have to decide yes or no," he said when asked about a possible float toward the end of the year.

Ecclestone said last November that any initial public offering was unlikely before 2014.