Bernie Ecclestone believes the seven-time world champion isn’t trying his best in the 2022 season
Lewis Hamilton’s fashion choices were queried by Bernie Ecclestone © Clive Mason / Getty Images
Outspoken former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has slammed Lewis Hamilton’s poor form in the 2022 season in addition to the Brit’s dress sense.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton is currently sixth in the drivers’ standing and hasn’t won a Grand Prix all year while trailing Mercedes teammate George Russell.
With just one year left to run on Hamilton’s £40 million ($49 million) contract, Ecclestone suggested during an interview with the Daily Mail that Hamilton might sell his position to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and say something along the lines of: “This is how much I am getting, I’ll step down and give me half of what I would get”.
“Toto can go and do one of his magic deals, offer someone less money and keep £20 million ($24.6 million),” Ecclestone suggested.
“Nobody needs to tell Toto this because he has already thought of it. Lewis would probably stop under those circumstances.
Ecclestone confessed that he has been proven wrong by Russell, who he didn’t think “was that good” but has done “an excellent job”.
“I’m surprised. Or is it a case of Lewis doing a bad job? A bit of both,” Ecclestone pondered.
The 91-year-old claimed that Wolff is getting a “bit fed up” with Hamilton, who in his opinion isn’t trying.
“Let’s put it another way, Lewis doesn’t seem bothered about losing. It’s not like him. He has a competitive nature but he’s taking losing a bit easy for my liking,” scoffed Ecclestone, who also believes that Hamilton isn’t “actively helping” Russell.
“I don’t think he’s doing anything. I don’t think he cares too much. He’s not prepared to put the effort into winning that he did.”
Furthermore, Ecclestone said that Hamilton dramatically exiting his cockpit in Azerbaijan after being jostled in his car, while also claiming to be suffering from a bad back, was “all b*******”.
“George is taller and if it was going to happen to anyone it would have happened to him,” Ecclestone offered.
“There was a bit of Nigel Mansell about it,” he said, in reference to the 1993 world champion who was also known for looking for excuses when underperforming.
“At least with Nigel, he would get out of the car and rub his left leg as if he had broken it. Next moment, it would be his right leg.”
Last to receive a lashing from Ecclestone’s acid tongue was Hamilton’s fashion sense.
“I don’t know what he is doing dressing up in all those funny clothes. Has he a deal to it? Is it to get noticed? Maybe that’s it,” Ecclestone, who was recently arrested in his wife’s homeland Brazil with a handgun, concluded on the Brit.
Finishing third in Canada last time out, Hamilton returns to action at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on July 3 as reigning champion Max Verstappen leads the drivers’ standings.
