Lewis Hamilton has been accused of ‘giving up’ on Mercedes ahead of ditching the Silver Arrows for Ferrari at the start of next year. Former Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has reservations about the seven-time champion’s switch to the Scuderia outfit.

Hamilton suffered another horror outing in Brazil last weekend, struggling on the wet surface and finishing 10th. It has been another difficult year for the 39-year-old, despite him ending a two-year wait for a Grand Prix win.

Ecclestone insists that the incoming Ferrari star could no longer remain at Mercedes, claiming either the driver or the team had given up on the other. Hamilton has been warned that Ferrari could still prioritise Charles Leclerc.

Asked if the Brit can win a record eighth World Drivers’ Championship, Ecclestone told the Daily Mail: “I believe he won't.

“I don't think it will be easy for Lewis. Especially in that team. They will back Charles Leclerc. He's quick and has grown up there. They won't dump him for anyone.

“However, from Lewis' point of view it may not have been a mistake to join Ferrari. He couldn't exist any longer at Mercedes. Either he's given up with them or they have given up on him.

“They wouldn't do much to keep him, so he is better off going.”

It comes after Christian Horner suggested that Hamilton could be leaving Mercedes at the “right time”. The Silver Arrows have struggled for performance over the past two years, with George Russell also failing for consistency.

“It will be very interesting to see how Lewis acclimatises to life at Ferrari,” Horner told talkSPORT. “He’s obviously coming out of a very comfortable environment, one that he knows very well over the last 10 years, or more than 10 years. So that’ll be a change for him.

“Charles Leclerc is another very fast driver. But you know, Ferrari is a team that looks like they’re picking momentum up, so for sure a driver of Lewis’s quality is always going to be a challenger.

“And I think, Ferrari, he could be just jumping at the right time.

“I think he’s obviously seen things that he’s chosen to change teams for because he believes in the future of Ferrari, so that’s going to be fascinating to see how that plays out.”