Ecclestone said that Dennis applied to the High Court in London on Friday for an injunction to prevent a boardroom shake-up that would see the 69-year-old ousted from his role as chairman and chief executive atMcLaren.
Ecclestone told reporters in Sao Paulo: "There was a court case yesterday. He wanted to overturn what happened and he lost the case, unfortunately. It is a pity. We don't want to lose Ron."
The 85-year-old chief executive of F1 added that it appeared thatDennis may be suspended and placed on "gardening leave" if he did not win an appeal.
Dennis has been involved with McLaren for 35 years and been fightingto protect his position for several weeks.
According to reports, Dennis last week presented a $2 billion takeover offer from a Chinese consortium.
Dennis has a 25-percent holding in McLaren, where he helped guide Niki Lauda, James Hunt, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna and Lewis Hamilton to world championships.