“Lewis is very talented, was and probably still is,” Ecclestone, 94, told the Daily Mail. “But like a lot of leading sports personalities when they reach the top, there is only one way to go and it’s not a good direction. It’s only down.
“They get tired. 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. He may not think it, but he will soon get used to doing other stuff away from motor racing.
“I think he should have done it a while ago.”
“The guy is not a cheat, but he would be cheating himself if he goes on,” Ecclestone added.
“He should stop now. If I were looking after him I would negotiate with Ferrari immediately and say, ‘if you have someone to replace Lewis, he’ll step aside.’
“If I were Lewis, I would say to Ferrari that I wanted to be paid all my contract, in full. They signed him because they thought he could do a job. ‘It isn’t working so I can I can make way if you want me to’… but that’s the arrangement.”
Shut up, Bernie. Go back to your cave.
Can always be relied upon by the journos for a juicy soundbite.
#ripEddie - at least Eddie Jordan’s mad mutterings felt like they came from a kinder place, and to be fair he did predict Lewis to Ferrari, just got the dates wrong once or twice!
You either die an EJ or live long enough to see yourself become a Bernie
Bernie has been this way for a long time though lol
He’s in his 90s though, I’ve got to assume he hasn’t always been completely mad!
Bernie was basically eligible for early retirement when Lewis was born.
What I am saying is STFU Bernie.
Lewis’ biggest problem is that hes driving for Ferrari. It was the same when Mercedes tried the no pod concept. You could hear it in the radio and his short replies post race.
I think his biggest problem is just that he’s gotten slower. Everyone keeps blaming the car on the ground effect, but he has gotten consistently worse over the past 3 years, especially during qualifying. His race Pace was the one thing he could always fall back on but even that is now starting to suffer.
Probably unpopular opinion here but I think Bernie is right on this particular subject.
Yeah, Leclerc is tired too. Porbably more so.
Must be the water
He’s already proven to be one of the greatest drivers of all time. I assume he still wants to be placed in higher regard than Schumacher in winning with Ferrari. He probably feels he can do that by winning with 3 teams rather than (only) 2.
Other than like 2 races, LeClerc has notably outperformed Hamilton in equal hardware, and I don’t think many people would claim LeClerc is the best driver on the grid. I’m with Bernie on this one, every year Hamilton sits mid-field in a Ferrari is a year a rookie doesn’t get a chance.
