Max Verstappen Superfan Bernie Ecclestone Once Succumbed to Lewis Hamilton’s Outrageous Financial Demands for a Valuable Purpose

F1 hasn’t arguably had a shrewd ringmaster ever since Bernie Ecclestone handed over the keys to F1’s office to Liberty Media. That being said, the era that Ecclestone ushered into F1 was marked by crazy stories, baffling insights, and an anecdote or two. In the recent past, Ecclestone has been known to be pro-Max Verstappen. What’s more? He’s also aimed myriad jabs at 7x Champion Lewis Hamilton. Even though he has a crude stance against the Brit now, there was a time in Hamilton’s career when Ecclestone almost orchestrated the move that led to the greatest driver-team pairing in the history of this sport.

Mercedes was in the race to sign Lewis Hamilton from McLaren in 2013. That being said, it would appear that the demands of the then-1x Champion were a bit too steep for the Silver Arrows to comply. That’s when Ecclestone tried to step in and be the bigger man, with his big pockets!

In the Disney+ documentary title ‘Lucky!’, he narrated, “Niki [Lauda] realized what a valuable driver Lewis was, and he found some way of persuading him (Lewis Hamilton) he should be driving for Mercedes. If he didn’t get paid what he wanted, Lewis, he wasn’t going to agree.”

“So I said ‘well he’s somebody that I think Mercedes needs, I’ll pay the difference.’ But eventually, Mercedes paid.”

Read More: “Frustration Prevailed”: Insult Added to Lewis Hamilton’s Heartbreaking Wounds After Motivation Gets Questioned

“Formula 1 should thank Max Verstappen” is what Ecclestone had said to De Telegraaf as a pointed jab at Lewis Hamilton. But in the past, he’s been more than ready to aim direct shots at the 7x World Champion.

Lewis Hamilton was once asked to quit the sport completely by Bernie Ecclestone

It’s safe to say, Bernie Ecclestone hasn’t been the greatest Lewis Hamilton fan. After the torrid start to the 2022 season, Lewis Hamilton was probably at the lowest point of his F1 career. And that’s exactly when Ecclestone chose to serve the man the biggest insult of his life.

He told the Daily Mail, “Lewis might sell his position to Toto [Wolff, Mercedes’ team principal]. This is how much I am getting, I’ll step down and give me half of what I would get. Toto can go and do one of his magic deals, offer someone less money and keep £20m ($24m).”

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Can Lewis Hamilton prove Bernie Ecclestone wrong and triumph over Max Verstappen in 2023?