With rumors regarding Lewis Hamilton’s future refusing to go away, former Formula 1 boss Bernie Eccleston said that the Briton is not coming back next season.
Ecclestone was the latest in a many F1 related personalities to give their opinion about the seven-time F1 World Champion’s future in the sport, who has been laying low ever since his controversial defeat at the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP, where he lost out on the F1 Title to rival Max Verstappen on the last lap of the race.
The 91-year-old Briton was speaking in an interview with Blick, and answered when asked if he talked to Hamilton post Abu Dhabi.
“No, but a few days ago with his father,” he said. “I immediately sensed that he wouldn’t answer a question about his son’s future. So we only talked business!
Ecclestone believes Hamilton won’t come back
Asked what he believed Hamilton is going through, he said: “I don’t know, but I don’t think he’s coming back.
“His disappointment is too great. And you can understand that in a way. Now it would be time, with seven world championship titles like Michael Schumacher, to tackle his dream of becoming a fashion entrepreneur.
“There were certainly a lot of things that went wrong in the final laps,” Ecclestone said of Abu Dhabi’s season finale.
“Race director Masi could have saved himself some trouble if he had stopped the race immediately with the red flag after the Latifi crash. Then it would have been a superfinal between Max and Lewis for the last three laps.
“Things really went wrong there. We can’t change it anymore,” he lamented.
Red Bull called Sergio Perez in when he had an oil pressure problem, to avoid him stopping on track and thus causing another safety car period, or even extending the already active one.
The interviewer quizzed Ecclestone whether Mercedes should have stopped Valtteri Bottas on track to extend the safety car period.
“Pretty clever,” he admitted. “Thought of that too, and there would have been some ideal places for the Safety Car to have stayed out. Many would have been upset, but no one would have had the current final in mind without the race resuming.
“And I don’t know whether Toto Wolff, with a third of the team shares, is still in the same strong position as before. But we’ll find out at some point,” Ecclestone responded when it was pointed out to him that Mercedes’ lack of reaction cost them big money.
Asked if Mercedes would suffer in the absence of Hamilton, the former F1 boss said: “True. But Lewis could only lose in 2022.
“Who knows how the new cars will rearrange the field. With George Russell, he’d get an ambitious teammate, of whom, by the way, I’m not as convinced as many experts.
“And let’s not forget Verstappen. With him, Hamilton has finally found an equal opponent after many years,” Ecclestone pointed out.
Verstappen is the best now
Max Verstappen said after receiving his trophy that he didn’t see why Hamilton would retire, with Ecclestone commenting: “I understand that.
“With Hamilton, Max had a rival that everyone rated highly. So successes count twice. And I maintain that Max is currently the best racing driver in the world.
Ecclestone also revealed that he has recently been talking to Carlos Sainz Sr. about his son’s future at Maranello.
When pushed for more details he said: “Let’s put it this way. Many people in Maranello are surprised that the Spaniard could give teammate Charles Leclerc such a run for his money in 2021 (5.5 more championship points, editor’s note).
“For me, Leclerc was always a very good driver, but not any more,” Ecclestone concluded.