Lewis Hamilton’s arrival at Ferrari is one of the highlights of the 2025 Formula 1 season. Many people are focused on the first steps of the seven-time F1 world champion at Maranello. However, some, like Bernie Ecclestone, do not enjoy the hype surrounding this alliance.
The former F1 chief executive, who was ousted shortly after Liberty Media took over leadership, has a skeptical view of this transfer.
“I don’t think Lewis will get the same attention at Ferrari,” he told The Telegraph. “First and foremost, the team is pleased with Charles Leclerc, his teammate. Leclerc speaks their language (Monaco people are fluent in Italian), so they will look after him. Even if Lewis performs well, he will still have many enemies because he arrived unexpectedly.”
Regarding the age difference between the two drivers, with Hamilton at 40 years old and Leclerc at 27 years old, 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 tell 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 veteran British driver has signed a contract that includes at least two seasons at Ferrari, with the possibility of a third year as an option. However, for the former collector of many classic cars, the situation will get worse.
“He won’t last that long. Piero Ferrari, who brought him in, still thinks he did the right thing. I hope he’s right. I hope they don’t rush into it and end up regretting it,” he said.
Not stopping at the sporting aspects, Ecclestone also criticized Hamilton’s fashion sense and his interests outside the racing world.
“Lewis puts himself in such 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,” he insisted.
“He has a lot of talent as a driver. Is as much given to him? No, but enough to win races. I don’t know why he’s doing all this nonsense. He needs to get out of the music business and everything related to it.”
In recent years, Ecclestone and Hamilton have clashed, especially in terms of diversity and racism. Never shying away from controversial or inappropriate comments, the former Brabham director, at the height of the racer and F1’s efforts on diversity issues in 2020, said that “in many cases, black people are more racist than white people.”
Hamilton responded by saying, “The fact that nothing has been said or done to make our sport more diverse or to combat the racial abuse I have experienced throughout my career makes a lot of sense today.”
