Ecclestone: It would never happen with Schumi and the Italians!

During a visit to Ringier Pressehaus, publishers of Swiss publication Blick, Ecclestone declared in no uncertain terms, "Vettel was, unfortunately, let down by Ferrari in Monza and then again in Singapore they called him into the pits too early. It would never happen with Schumi and the Italians!"

"Actually, everything is decided for this year, Hamilton is world champion," added Ecclestone.

With six rounds remaining Hamilton leads the drivers' championship standings by 40 points over rival Vettel, with only six of the 21 races remaining. The German and his Ferrari team have been their own worst enemies in the latter half of the season.

The Reds began the year strong with Vettel getting an early lead in the championship, but Mercedes plugged away with Hamilton raising his game to an impressive level while Vettel has made some glaring errors (Hockenheim) while his team have also 'fumbled the ball' at crucial times.

Ecclestone controversially said last year that there were too many Italians running Ferrari previously and also revealed how the legendary Italian team were favoured during his long tenure at the helm of the sport.

Last year he said: "F1 is Ferrari, and Ferrari is F1. Helping Ferrari has always been the smartest thing to do. It was always done through the technical regulations."

"The teams are important to F1, but Ferrari is more than that. So many things have been done over the years that have helped Ferrari to win."

For the record Michael Schumacher is the driver with most F1 wins with 72 victories, followed by Niki Lauda with 15 wins, Vettel shares third place with Alberto Ascari with 13 victories each.

https://www.grandprix247.com/2017/01/05/ecclestone-there-are-too-many-italians-at-ferrari/