Ecclestone questions whether Ferrari are still happy signing Hamilton

The 94-year-old's statement comes at a point when Hamilton is notably struggling with his 2024 Mercedes F1 car, the W15, while teammate George Russell seems to be extracting better performance from it.

The latest example was Hamilton's struggles in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, where the seven-time F1 champion barely finished in the points (tenth), struggling with a bouncy Mercedes W15.

Russell, on the other hand, was fourth at the chequered flag, having lost out on a podium position or even a win had it not been for a botched Mercedes strategy as the team pitted him before a Red flag period despite his resistance to such a move.

There was much talk about Hamilton's ability to return to his winning ways and even clinch that elusive eighth F1 title with Ferrari, but Ecclestone has his doubts.

"I believe he won't," the former F1 supremo told the Daily Mail when asked if Hamilton can win title eight with Ferrari when he joins in 2025.

"I don't think it will be easy for Lewis. Especially in that team. They will back Charles Leclerc. He's quick and has grown up there. They won't dump him for anyone.

"However, from Lewis' point of view it may not have been a mistake to join Ferrari. He couldn't exist any longer at Mercedes. Either he's given up with them or they have given up on him.

"They wouldn't do much to keep him, so he is better off going," Ecclestone interestingly pointed out, especially in light of recent comments from Toto Wolff regarding Hamilton's departure.

Wolff basically said he was happy Hamilton decided to leave before Mercedes had to take the decision and let him go.

Ecclestone was asked whether it would be a good idea for Hamilton to walk away from the sport even before he joins Ferrari.

"He would have to walk away from a lot financially," he responded, referring to Hamilton's £50-Million paycheck a year with Ferrari.

"It is a big deal he has got, though I suspect the bonus clauses written into his contract are there to make him feel good rather than reality.

"For [Ferrari Chairman] John Elkann, the guy who runs it, it was a big ego thing," Ecclestone pointed out. "He thought he had captured the best guy the world had ever seen.

"When he signed him there was nothing to indicate he was wrong in that assessment. Whether he is still happy with that is another story.

"Only time will tell. If Lewis is fading, which I don't like to see, he should go away and do something else, and do a good job at it.

"He's now one of the older generation - and didn't he say he wanted to hear less from them?" Ecclestone concluded.

Hamilton has always been critical of the likes of former F1 driver Sir Jackie Stewart and Ecclestone himself when they gave their opinions about him.