Bernie Ecclestone has already made it know that he believes Lewis Hamilton should retire from Formula 1.<\/p>\n
However, if four-time World Champion Max Verstappen<\/a> decided to swap Red Bull for Ferrari and succeed Hamilton, then Ecclestone \u2013 the former F1 supremo \u2013 warns Verstappen that is his career finished.<\/p>\n Max Verstappen to Ferrari: A career-wrecking union?<\/p>\n Ferrari opted against renewing the contract of Carlos Sainz in order to strike a deal with seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton. But, that big-money move for team and driver is yet to pay off.<\/p>\n Hamilton is still searching for his first podium as a Ferrari driver. Team-mate Charles Leclerc has scored five such results in F1 2025 \u2013 and claimed a surprise pole position in Hungary \u2013 on his way to establishing a gap of 42 points over Hamilton in the standings<\/a>.<\/p>\n Hamilton had already established himself as Formula 1\u2019s most successful driver when he decided to swap Mercedes for Ferrari. It was designed to provide a fresh spark in his career which had somewhat stagnated, but the desired effect is yet to be realised.<\/p>\n Ecclestone believes Hamilton needs to retire<\/a> from Formula 1, but if he did, Verstappen should not get any ideas about heading for Maranello, Ecclestone warns.<\/p>\n Verstappen has stated his continued committed to Red Bull for F1 2026, but the pressure is on. Sweeping changes to the chassis and engine regulations are on the way, with Red Bull to become an engine manufacturer in their own right for the first time \u2013 as of F1 2026 \u2013 working in partnership with Ford.<\/p>\n Should Red Bull underwhelm, then Verstappen activating the exit clause in his contract may become a far greater threat to the team than it was this year. Use it to join Ferrari though, and Ecclestone made it clear what he believes the repercussions would be for Verstappen.<\/p>\n \u201cIf he goes to Ferrari, it would be the end of his career,\u201d Ecclestone said of Verstappen when speaking with Sport.de.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s hope that doesn\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n Instead, Ecclestone name-dropped \u201cIsack Hadjar\u201d as a Ferrari candidate should Hamilton leave. Hadjar could yet end up at Red Bull as Verstappen\u2019s F1 2026 team-mate, as he continues to impressively navigate his rookie season.<\/p>\n But, Ecclestone would be leaning towards another impressive F1 2025 rookie as the ideal Hamilton replacement.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to choose an up-and-coming driver,\u201d said Ecclestone.<\/p>\n \u201cI would take the Brazilian Bortoleto, who I think will be very good, or Isack Hadjar.<\/p>\n \u201cBortoleto gets the job done. Put him in the right car and you\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n How F1 2026 is shaping up<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0F1 2026 driver line-up: Who is already confirmed for the 2026 grid?<\/a><\/p>\n