Lewis Hamilton’s arrival at Ferrari is one of the focal points of the 2025 Formula 1 season. Many people are focused on the first step of the seven-time F1 world champion in Maranello. However, some, like Bernie Ecclestone, do not enjoy the sensations surrounding this alliance.
The former F1 chief executive, who was ousted from his position shortly after Liberty Media took over leadership, has a skeptical view of this transfer.
“I think Lewis will not get the same attention at Ferrari,” he told The Telegraph. “First of all, the team is happy with Charles Leclerc, his teammate. Leclerc speaks their language (Monaco people are fluent in Italian), so they will keep him. Even if Lewis does well, he will still have many enemies, because he arrived suddenly.”
Regarding the age difference between the two drivers, with Hamilton being 40 years old and Leclerc being 27, Ecclestone responded, “I have a theory about that. The most important thing is not the age of the drivers, but the time they spend doing the same thing. With Lewis, I told myself, ‘He’s tired, he’s no longer motivated. He’s lost his motivation’.
“If he had never won a world championship, it might be different, because there would be motivation to win it. But he has won seven world titles.”
The British veteran driver has signed a contract that covers at least two seasons with Ferrari, with the possibility of a third year as an option. However, for the former collector of many classic cars, the situation will turn for the worse.
“He won’t last that long. Piero Ferrari, who brought him in, still believes he did the right thing. I hope he is right. I hope they don’t rush into it and end up regretting it,” he said.
Not stopping at the sporting aspects, Ecclestone also attacked Hamilton’s way of dressing and his interests outside the racing world.
“Lewis puts himself in a way that people can hate him. How can a man who has won several world titles and has a lot of money in the bank dress like that? I’m not a fan of his,” he emphasized.
“He has a lot of talent as a driver. As much as people give him? No, but enough to win races. I don’t know why he does all this nonsense. He has to get out of the music business and everything related to it.”
In recent years, Ecclestone and Hamilton have clashed, especially on issues of diversity and racism. Never shying away from controversial or inappropriate comments, the former Brabham director, at the peak of the driver and F1’s efforts on diversity issues in 2020, stated that “in many cases, black people are more racist than white people.”
Hamilton responded by saying, “The fact that nothing is said or done to make our sport more diverse or to combat the racial abuse I have experienced throughout my career makes perfect sense today.”
