Bernie Ecclestone continues to dismiss Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari as nothing more than a marketing exercise. According to Ecclestone, Hamilton should retire — he has achieved everything he can, and a switch to Ferrari is unlikely to deliver that elusive eighth world championship. However, Ecclestone has never fully addressed the controversial events of 2021 that denied Hamilton that milestone.
Ecclestone didn’t reserve his criticism solely for Hamilton; he also targeted Fred Vasseur, the current team principal of Scuderia Ferrari, for not being the authoritarian figure he believes the team needs to regiment team discipline organisation.
Hamilton has taken time to adjust to the Ferrari SF25 after more than a decade driving Mercedes machinery. Complicating matters further, Ferrari has produced a car with underlying potential that is compromised by a ride height issue, which causes a noticeable loss of performance.
No solution has yet been found to resolve the ride height problem, leaving the team struggling and Hamilton flustered for much of the 2025 season, with just one Sprint Race victory to his name — more a symbolic triumph than a sign of championship-winning form.
Teammate Charles Leclerc has been more consistent, outperforming Hamilton and scoring three podium finishes, with a 64-point lead over Hamilton in the drivers’ standings, with four races remaining.
Hamilton has admitted he now views the season more as a prolonged test session in preparation for a championship push in 2026. However, no one can yet predict how the new regulations will shake up the order when the 2026 season begins.
Despite this, Ecclestone remains steadfast in his belief that Hamilton will ultimately not prevail at Ferrari. In a recent interview with German media, he stated:
“The problem is that Ferrari needs a dictator at the top to be successful,” Ecclestone suggested. They don’t speak Italian there, they speak Ferrarian. Everyone in Italy has a say and interferes in what is right and wrong.”
“Hamilton is one of the best of the last ten years, but he’s not the best, financial marketing project”. Everything is slipping away from him there. He wanted to become world champion there and is now surprised that he can’t do it.”
