Former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has suggested that Lewis Hamilton should offer to step aside at Ferrari, provided the Italian constructor coughs up the remainder of his reported £120million contract. The Brit has suffered two brutal race weekends in succession, battering his confidence heading into the summer break.

Lewis Hamilton would be “cheating himself” if he continued in Formula 1, with Bernie Ecclestone adamant he should have retired a while ago. Hamilton’s shock decision to swap Mercedes for a Ferrari in a bid to claim an eighth World title hasn’t yielded the resurgence that the Briton was after.