“Lewis is very talented, was and probably still is,” Ecclestone, 94, told the Daily Mail. “But like a lot of leading sports personalities when they reach the top, there is only one way to go and it’s not a good direction. It’s only down.

“They get tired. Lewis is tired. He’s been doing what he is doing forever. He needs a rest from it for good, a total reset to do something completely different. He may not think it, but he will soon get used to doing other stuff away from motor racing.

“I think he should have done it a while ago.”

“The guy is not a cheat, but he would be cheating himself if he goes on,” Ecclestone added.

“He should stop now. If I were looking after him I would negotiate with Ferrari immediately and say, ‘if you have someone to replace Lewis, he’ll step aside.’

“If I were Lewis, I would say to Ferrari that I wanted to be paid all my contract, in full. They signed him because they thought he could do a job. ‘It isn’t working so I can I can make way if you want me to’… but that’s the arrangement.”