Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone says the sport would need “half a dozen” drivers like Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, while also singing the praise of Red Bull ace Max Verstappen.
The 86-year-old has often hailed Hamilton’s “100% box-office” aura and appeal, saying the Briton has fully embraced his role as a triple world champion to support and promote F1.
While the sport’s new owners Liberty Media continue to assess their recent acquisition, Ecclestone feels the series would benefit from having more figures like Hamilton.
“Lewis is a little bit special - as a person and as a driver,” the Formula One group CEO told the official F1 website. “He is doing a super job. We would need half a dozen Lewis’s.”
Verstappen has also come into the good graces of Ecclestone, who leapt to his defence when the Dutchman came under fire for his swashbuckling driving style and robust defending.
“Max’s position is he’s wanting to get there, he wants to win,” added the supremo. “And he has got the quality and the talent to do it. He is racing - and that is what he is supposed to do! The drivers in F1 are supposed to race each other.”
FEATURE: Foul Play or Foul Language
Scene at the 2016 Mexican Grand Prix
Mexican Grand Prix - Quotes of the week
15 minutes with ... Nico Rosberg
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
When F1’s radically redesigned 2026 cars finally roll out in Barcelona at the end of…
Max Verstappen has never been one to sugar-coat reality – and as Formula 1 braces…
Ferrari have survived decades of criticism about strategy calls, driver politics and pit stops that…
While the paddock has been whispering for months that Mercedes might be holding the winning…
Dan Gurney passed away on this day in 2018, and here at F1i we'll never…
What began as a painful reminder of loss has ended with a moment of profound…