Bernie Ecclestone doubts Lewis Hamilton will ever add a record eighth drivers’ world title to his tally.
Although the 39-year-old’s decision to switch to Ferrari next year caught Toto Wolff by surprise, the Mercedes boss admits it also "helps" Mercedes.
"Because it avoids the moment where we need to tell the sport’s most iconic driver that we want to stop," the Austrian told the new book Inside Mercedes F1 - Life In The Fast Lane.
’We’re in a sport where cognitive sharpness is extremely important. I like the situation," Wolff, who is replacing Hamilton with 18-year-old protege Kimi Antonelli, added.
"(Football) managers like Sir Alex Ferguson or Pep Guardiola, they anticipated it in the performance of their top stars and brought in junior players that drove the team for the next years."
Indeed, Hamilton has notably struggled alongside teammate George Russell in the new ground-effect era starting in 2022, and last time out in Brazil he even hinted that he’d prefer a "holiday" over finishing the season.
And former F1 supremo Ecclestone doubts Hamilton will shine in red next year.
"I believe he won’t," the Briton told the Daily Mail when asked if he thinks Hamilton can race past his and Michael Schumacher’s joint record of seven drivers’ titles.
"I don’t think it will be easy for Lewis. Especially in that team. They will back Charles Leclerc," said Ecclestone. "He’s quick and has grown up there. They won’t dump him for anyone."
However, from a money-making perspective, Ecclestone thinks Hamilton was wise to accept Ferrari’s advances.
"He couldn’t exist any longer at Mercedes," he said. "Either he’s given up with them or they have given up on him.
"They wouldn’t do much to keep him, so he is better off going."
Some think Hamilton might be so disillusioned that he could call off the Ferrari deal altogether
"He would have to walk away from a lot financially," said Ecclestone. "It’s a big deal he has got, though I suspect the bonus clauses written into his contract are there to make him feel good rather than reality.
"For John Elkann, the guy who runs it, it was a big ego thing. He thought he had captured the best guy the world had ever seen. If Lewis is fading, which I don’t like to see, he should go away and do something else, and do a good job at it."