Bernie Ecclestone points finger at ‘political’ Lewis Hamilton as ‘typical’ response highlighted
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton prepares for the start of the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix
Former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has renewed his criticism of Lewis Hamilton, claiming it was not “the right decision” for Ferrari to sign him for the F1 2025 season.
And he believes Hamilton’s “political” response to the team’s difficulties is “typical” of both the seven-time World Champion and Ferrari.
Bernie Ecclestone: Lewis Hamilton ‘a little bit political’
Hamilton joined Ferrari from Mercedes ahead of the F1 2025 season in one of the most high-profile transfers in the sport’s history.
However, the partnership has so far struggled to live up to the hype with Hamilton still awaiting his first podium finish in red.
Hamilton appeared to cast doubt over his own future at the recent Hungarian Grand Prix, where he could only manage 12th on the grid as team-mate Charles Leclerc set pole position.
Lewis Hamilton vs Charles Leclerc: Ferrari head-to-head scores for F1 2025
👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates
👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates
The 40-year-old, who has been limited to just two wins across the last three-and-a-half seasons, repeatedly referred to himself as “useless” before suggesting that Ferrari should consider replacing him.
Hamilton, who has had a number of tense team radio exchanges with new race engineer Riccardo Adami over the first half of the season, later went on to allude to potential trouble behind the scenes at Maranello.
He said 24 hours later in Budapest: “There’s a lot going on in the background that’s not great.”
Ecclestone believes Hamilton’s “political” reaction to his current woes is “typical” of both him and his new team.
Yet he is not ruling out a Hamilton revival, warning that the veteran may still “come to life again” at some stage.
Asked how frustrating it is to watch Ferrari struggle, he told F1 Destinations: “It is quite incredible.
“Ferrari worked well under the leadership of Jean Todt, when he brought Michael [Schumacher] and many other personnel from Benetton.
“At the moment, I cannot say anything negative about the Italian staff working for Ferrari.
“But I think the team needs someone to take charge, find the right direction and get the job done.
“I am not sure that taking Lewis was the right decision.
“Lewis is obviously talented, but a little bit political, which is typical for Ferrari and typical for him.
“But he could come to life again which would be good for him and good for Ferrari.”
Ecclestone’s latest comments come after he called for Hamilton to retire immediately, claiming that he would be “cheating himself” by sticking around in F1.
PlanetF1.com understands that the ‘multi-year’ contract Hamilton signed to join Ferrari officially lasts until the end of the F1 2026 season.
More on Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari from PlanetF1.com
However, a report in Italy earlier this week claimed that Hamilton has an option – purely on his side – to extend his deal until the end of 2027 regardless of his performance level, with Ferrari having little influence on the matter.
Ecclestone raised the possibility that Hamilton could come to a mutual agreement with Ferrari to part ways if there is no improvement soon, but suggested that the seven-time World Champion would demand to be paid “in full” to end his contract early.
He told the Mail: “Lewis is very talented, was and probably still is.
“But like a lot of leading sports personalities, when they reach the top, there is only one way to go and it’s not a good direction. It’s only down.
“They get tired. Lewis is tired. He’s been doing what he is doing forever.
“He needs a rest from it for good, a total reset to do something completely different.
“He may not think it, but he will soon get used to doing other stuff away from motor racing in retirement. I think he should have done it a while ago.
“The guy is not a cheat. But he would be cheating himself if he goes on. He should stop now.
“If I were looking after him, I would negotiate with Ferrari immediately and say: ‘If you have someone to replace Lewis, he’ll step aside.’
“If I were Lewis, I would say to Ferrari that I wanted to be paid all my contract, in full.
“They signed him because they thought he could do a job.
“[Hamilton could say]: ‘It isn’t working, so I can make way if you want me to, but that’s the arrangement.’
“It could work for both parties.”
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