Ecclestone: "I would have made it very clear to Lewis"

46e52e687859108f104690b80221039ca11bfca8

13:39, 07 Feb 2021

Almost everyone has had their say on the contract negotiations between Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes . Bernie Eccelstone has been giving his thoughts on the situation his compatriot finds himself in.

"I would have made it very clear to Lewis: Either you take what we are offering you now, or you leave. Everybody is replaceable. Only one person decides who drives here and that's me!," the former Formula One boss told f1-insider.com.

Money talks

Ecclestone then brings some nuance to his statement. He would make the decisions, but that does not mean that as a team boss he was never influenced and that he sometimes chose to keep the peace within his team. This example from 1984 with Brabham shows that 'he who pays the piper calls the tune' applies in most cases.

"We had a very good test with a young Brazilian driver called Ayrton Senna. I wanted him. When Nelson [Piquet] heard that, he got really upset and reacted like a posturing child. He definitely didn't want Senna as a teammate. He immediately recognized his potential. But I didn't care."

However, it was main sponsor Parmalat who didn't like two Brazilian drivers and that was the deciding factor in the end. Ecclestone chose to keep the peace within the team, but saw to it that Senna could work somewhere else. He arranged a seat for him at Toleman.

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	156
2	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	115
3	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	106
4	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	75
5	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	73
6	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	70
7	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	55
8	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	37
9	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	32
10	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	28
11	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	19
12	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	18
13	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	14
14	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	6
15	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	5
16	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	3
17	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	2
18	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	1
19	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	0
20	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
21	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0
22	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0

Ecclestone: "I would have made it very clear to Lewis"

Money talks

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