Ecclestone: I think in the future Lewis will focus more on fashion

Famously never a fan of Hamilton, Ecclestone said in an interview with RTL/ntv and sport.de: “He wanted to become Formula 1 World Champion with them and is now surprised that he can’t manage it.”

The former Formula 1 supremo acknowledged that the seven-time F1 World Champion remains “one of the best of the last ten years, but not the best.”

Ecclestone suggests that the relationship between Hamilton and Ferrari has already become little more than “a financial marketing project" and added. "I think in the future Lewis will focus more on fashion.”

For the 95-year-old, the bigger issue lies within the Scuderia itself. “The problem is, Ferrari needs a dictator at the top to succeed. They don’t speak Italian there, they speak Ferrari. Everyone in Italy has an opinion and gets involved, deciding what’s right and wrong."

Stats show that Hamilton is on track for the worst season of his illustrious career. Despite it getting better for the Briton in recent races, the comparison with teammate Charles Leclerc do not make for good reading. The Monegasque is leading Lewis 15-5 in Qualifying and 15-3 in GPs, with four weekends to go.

Ecclestone said current Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur is “too weak” and “not a dictator,” suggesting that Ferrari’s internal politics and lack of firm leadership continue to undermine its pursuit of a first Formula 1 World Championship since 2008.

Before Hamilton had driven a F1 Ferrari in anger, in February, Ecclestone said of the sport's greatest union: “I have thought with Lewis, ‘He’s getting tired. He has lost motivation.’ If he had never won a world championship, it might be different, because then there would be an incentive to win one. But he has won seven,”

Ecclestone doubled down, convinced Hamilton won't see out his contract, as he said at the time: “He won’t last that long. Piero Ferrari, who has taken him there, still thinks they’ve done the right thing. I hope they have. I hope they haven’t just jumped in and end up wishing they hadn’t.”

“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,” former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone told the Daily Mail in August, when Ferrari were in crisis.

No matter who says what, the harsh reality is that Hamilton joined Ferrari this season with the ambition of returning to the top of the sport, but the team’s inconsistent performances and constant tension within Maranello have left both sides under pressure heading into the final stretch of the 2025 campaign.