Bernie Ecclestone urges Lewis Hamilton to retire given the ‘danger’ he now faces staying at Ferrari

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Bernie Ecclestone is adamant that Lewis Hamilton “should quit” F1 at the end of the 2025 campaign, having suffered a disappointing first season as a Ferrari driver so far.

The 40-year-old has seen his childhood dream of racing for the pride of Italy turn into a full-blown nightmare since switching the silver of Mercedes for the red of Ferrari at the start of 2025. Hamilton has registered a few F1 firsts since the switch, but few for the right reasons.

Never before Hamilton joined Ferrari had the Briton failed to secure a Grand Prix podium in the first 14 rounds of a season during his 19-year career. The seven-time champion has also earned his fewest points through 14 rounds since F1 introduced the current system in 2010.

His previous worst haul through 14 rounds before joining Ferrari came in 2012, during what proved to be the Stevenage-born star’s last year at McLaren, when he scored 142. Hamilton still took three of his four Grand Prix wins and six of his seven podiums in 14 of the 20 races.

Bernie Ecclestone fears Lewis Hamilton is in ‘danger’ of fans forgetting his success

Watching Hamilton, who earned 84 of his record 105 Grand Prix wins, 78/104 pole positions and 153/202 podiums for Mercedes, struggle so much this year has already seen Ecclestone suggest Ferrari should sign Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto given the Brazilian’s recent form.

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Hamilton also only sits sixth in the 2025 F1 drivers’ championship with 42 fewer points than Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, who ranks fifth. So, ex-F1 supremo Ecclestone believes he should retire at the end of the 2026 F1 season, or risk fans forgetting his previous success.

“Take off the gloves, be proud of what has been achieved and retire,” Ecclestone told sport.de. “The danger is if he continues for another year or year and a half and hasn’t improved by then, people will forget him and his achievements. He should quit.”

Bernie Ecclestone brands Ferrari’s initial expectations for Lewis Hamilton ‘embarrassing’

Hamilton’s £39m a year Ferrari contract is due to run through the 2026 F1 season and it also gives him an option to stay on for 2027. It was vital for the Scuderia to give Hamilton a long-term deal to persuade him to leave Mercedes, as he looked ahead to F1’s 2026 regulations.

But, while Hamilton moved to Maranello with 2026 in mind, the Briton claimed in February that Ferrari already had “every ingredient” to win a title. That has now proven to be wrong, with Hamilton giving Ferrari documents citing various issues that he wants them to change.

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur even started the 2025 F1 season believing that Hamilton and Leclerc would at least help them fight for the constructors’ championship. They lost out to McLaren by 14 points last season, yet Ferrari trail the papaya outfit by 299 points in 2025.

Vasseur and Hamilton’s optimism that his first season with Ferrari would feature everything he needed to fight at the front is “the most embarrassing” part of his misery for Ecclestone. Hamilton’s best Grand Prix results as a Ferrari driver are his P4s in Imola, Austria and Britain.

Ecclestone added: “The most embarrassing thing for Lewis and Ferrari, in my opinion, is that they believed he would be able to deliver all the things that were necessary. They must be disappointed that what was supposed to be delivered was not delivered.”