Bernie Ecclestone says he and “everyone I speak to” hopes that Max Verstappen is crowned world champion for the first time either this or next Sunday. The former F1 supremo insists that is nothing against seven time world champion Lewis Hamilton – he thinks it’s simply time Formula 1 had a new winner. 36-year-old Hamilton, though, fought on with Mercedes – but Ecclestone is now betting on a Verstappen triumph. Ecclestone claims “everyone I speak to” also hopes that Verstappen beats Hamilton. “Would other drivers do just as well in a car like that? One big weapon in Hamilton’s armoury is his ‘rocket’ Mercedes engine – but the reigning champion played down the significance of that.

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