Bernie Ecclestone: Ferrari won’t “dump” Charles Leclerc to support Lewis Hamilton
Bernie Ecclestone weighs in on the 2025 F1 title race.
Ex-F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone believes Charles Leclerc has more chance of winning this year’s title over new teammate Lewis Hamilton.
With the technical regulations remaining stable in the winter, many expect the battle at the front to be tighter than ever.
Based on F1 pre-season testing, McLaren appear to be the team to beat heading into the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Ferrari’s true potential is still unknown after Hamilton could not complete a race simulation on the final day due to an “anomaly”.
Ferrari narrowly missed out on last year’s F1 constructors’ championship by 14 points.
However, Hamilton’s arrival has only increased the hype and optimism at Maranello.
Ecclestone, who was previously F1 CEO for over 40 years, sees Leclerc as Ferrari’s best bet at winning the title.
The 94-year-old thinks that Leclerc's long association with Ferrari will ensure that he retains internal support despite Hamilton joining the team.
“You’d have to obviously think McLaren and I’d like to see Ferrari win,” Ecclestone told Reuters.
“He’s [Leclerc] been there all the way through so they are hardly going to dump him for Lewis.
“I’m not saying Lewis isn’t possible, just that they will not stop looking after and hoping Leclerc’s going to get the job done.”
Ecclestone still backs Verstappen
Heading into the new season, Max Verstappen is the reigning champion.
Verstappen has won the last four consecutive F1 titles, with last year arguably being his most impressive.
After winning 7 of the opening 10 races, Verstappen won just two of the remaining 14.
Even though Red Bull were struggling for form, Verstappen remained consistent to get over the line.
As a result, Ecclestone is still backing Verstappen for the title.
“I still think Max will win,” he said. “There’s no reason why he shouldn’t. If he’s got the equipment, obviously there’d be no discussion about him. It would be a definite.
“If the car’s up to it, he’ll get the job done.”
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