Why former Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone no longer unreservedly considers Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari a good idea
It was the headline of the 2023/24 Formula 1 winter break: Lewis Hamilton is leaving Mercedes and joining Ferrari for the 2025 season. But will Hamilton manage to win his historic eighth world championship title with the traditional team par excellence? Former Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has a clear opinion on this: “I don’t think he’ll manage it.”
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Ecclestone explains his point of view: “I guess Lewis won’t have an easy time of it, especially not with this team. Ferrari will support Charles Leclerc. Charles is fast and he grew up at Ferrari. Ferrari won’t drop him for anyone.”
Which raises the question of whether Hamilton’s move to Ferrari is really a good idea. Ecclestone says: “From Lewis’ perspective, it might not be a mistake to switch to Ferrari. He couldn’t have stayed with Mercedes any longer. Either he gave up on Mercedes or Mercedes gave up on him. The team wouldn’t do much to keep him. He’s better off leaving.”
A practical side effect for Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff: he no longer has to pay a princely driver’s salary for Hamilton, but can get the much cheaper Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the car. And he won’t be in the embarrassing position of having to replace Hamilton with a younger driver one day because Hamilton himself has drawn a line and is going to Ferrari.
What if Hamilton still cancels the change?
But if Hamilton were to find a scenario there as outlined by Ecclestone, with Leclerc as the clear number one in the team, wouldn’t Hamilton be better off canceling his Ferrari change? Would that even be conceivable? especially since Formula One expert Marc Surer calls the move the “wrong decision”.
Ecclestone says: “Lewis would have to do without a lot of money. He’s made a big deal [with Ferrari]. But I would think that the bonus clauses in his contract are more for his comfort, not for reality.”
On the other hand, Hamilton’s move was “a big ego thing” for Ferrari boss John Elkann, Ecclestone continues. “He thought he’d got hold of the best of all time. When he made the deal with Hamilton, there was nothing to suggest that this assessment was wrong. Whether he’s still happy is another matter. Only time will tell.”
Ecclestone’s dig at Hamilton
“But if Lewis slows down, which I hope he doesn’t, then he should quit and do something completely different. He’s part of an older generation now. And didn’t he once say he wanted to hear less from this older generation?”
The latter can be seen as a slight barb from Ecclestone in the direction of Hamilton, who had once criticized Ecclestone for coming “from a different generation” and being “out of touch” with the business, as well as being “ignorant and uneducated” in some respects.
The reason for these comments by Hamilton was a racism scandal involving Ecclestone in 2020, after which even Formula 1 distanced itself from Ecclestone.