Bernie Ecclestone has claimed that Lewis Hamilton is now tired and would be cheating himself if he doesn't retire now. The 7x F1 champion shocked the world last season when he announced that he would be leaving Mercedes for Ferrari at the end of the season.
The combination was supposed to be one comprising the most successful team in F1 and the most successful driver. Lewis Hamilton joined Ferrari at the start of the season with a lot of fanfare.
With the team having a strong ending to the 2024 F1 season, it was expected to continue on that run and possibly challenge for the title as well. That hasn't materialized, as Ferrari has taken a step back in terms of performance.
For Lewis Hamilton as well, the performances have not been great. He has been comprehensively outclassed by Charles Leclerc at Ferrari, and the F1 Hungarian GP appeared to be the one where the pressure appeared to spill over for him.
Looking at the performances this season, former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has chipped in and given his view. Talking to Daily Mail, Ecclestone claimed that after all these years in the sport, Hamilton is now tired and would be cheating himself if he continued to race. He said,
“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 added,
“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."Bernie asks Lewis Hamilton to negotiate his exit promptly
Lewis Hamilton is currently on a 2+1 contract, where the driver has a contract until the end of the 2026 F1 season with an option for 2027. Bernie Ecclestone, however, feels that the driver shouldn't wait this long and negotiate his release immediately. He said,
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. ‘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.”The problem with Lewis Hamilton's form has not necessarily been about the driver's stint at Ferrari alone, it has been about his stint at Mercedes as well, alongside George Russell, where he's struggled to do a good enough job. The summer break is crucial for the British driver, and it would be interesting to see if he bounces back from this.
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Edited by Charanjot Singh Kohli