F1 News
Ecclestone: "I would like to see him in a team with Max Verstappen"
- GPblog.com
Formula 1 has been dominated by Mercedes since 2014, who are on their way to their seventh world title in a row. According to Bernie Ecclestone, those victories are deserved, but the current drivers and team members also owe a lot to their predecessors.
Verstappen and Hamilton together?
In 2013, Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton joined the Mercedes project. Wolff comes over from Williams and Hamilton from Mercedes. Certainly for Hamilton it is a gamble, who at McLaren has everything his heart desires. As successor to Michael Schumacher he has a big place to fill, but does so with confidence.
''Lewis has earned it, because outside 2016 he has always beaten his teammates. He rarely makes mistakes, but I compare him to a poker player who knows he has four aces in his hand. Then you can play poker while the others sweat. I would like to see him in a team with Max Verstappen. The question is whether he still makes so few mistakes," says the birthday boy Ecclestone to Sport1.de.
Mercedes can benefit
According to Bernie, Lewis also owes a lot to his predecessor: Schumacher. ''His return to Formula 1 was not as good for him as it was for Formula 1. He has developed Mercedes to what it is today and it is almost tragic to see that all the people after him are now going with all the records." When asked whether he refers to Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton, the answer is clear.
''Lewis benefits from that, but so does Toto and everyone else. I don't want to downplay their influence, but in 2014 they could lie down in the bed that Ross Brawn and Michael Schumacher had made for them and all they had to do was maintain that level. Niki Lauda has been very important in that, but the engine of Mercedes already ensured that half the battle was already over," concludes Ecclestone.