Bernie Ecclestone poured cold water on Lewis Hamilton’s F1 stay, saying that he doubts he will stay in F1.
Hamilton’s F1 future was up in the air after the highly controversial Abu Dhabi GP. He lost out on a surefire eighth world title to Max Verstappen on the last lap of the race in absolutely cruel conditions.
The British Knight was so disillusioned by the whole situation, and his silence thereafter has been deafening. There were retirement rumours swirling around, but the seven-time champion recently told Mercedes that he would be staying for 2022.
However, Ecclestone poured cold water on Hamilton’s F1 stay, saying that he still thinks he will wave the sport goodbye.
Speaking in an interview with Blick, when asked if he talked to Hamilton after the race, The 91-year-old said, “No, but a few days ago with his father.
“I immediately sensed that he wouldn’t answer a question about his son’s future. So we only talked business!
“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. 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.”
The alternate
Ecclestone also expressed his happiness with Verstappen stepping up to challenge the Mercedes driver.
“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.”
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