Former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone believes that it is time for seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton to retire.

The fact is that - like several world champions before him, think Prost, Mansell, Senna and Vettel - things have not worked out for the Briton since moving to Maranello.

For much of the time Hamilton has put a brave face on things but last weekend seemed to be the tipping point, with the Ferrari driver calling himself useless and suggesting the Maranello outfit finds another driver.

That was after failing to get into Q3 whilst his teammate claimed pole, and post-race his mood was no better, though he played down the suggestion that he might quit over the summer.

However, that is exactly what Ecclestone is calling on him to do.

As well as being the boss of F1, Ecclestone previously owned the Brabham team, overseeing two of Nelson Piquet's titles. However, he had also been a driver manager, and two of his drivers, Stuart Lewis-Evans and Jochen Rindt, both died while racing, the Austrian becoming the first (and hopefully last) posthumous world champion.

The deaths hit Ecclestone hard and as a result he sought not to get too involved with drivers over the years, a stance that was often misread by the public and media.

The 94-year-old was in Hungary at the weekend, and was able to watch Hamilton's struggles first-hand.

"Lewis is very talented, was and probably still is," he subsequently told Mail Sport. "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," he continued. "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 in retirement. I think he should have done it a while ago.

"The guy is not a cheat," he added. "But he would be cheating himself if he goes on. 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'. It could work for both parties."

On a reputed £60m a year for three years, it is highly unlikely that Ferrari would accept such a deal, though it is definitely the sort of deal Ecclestone would push for.

"I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to Lewis," said Ecclestone, clearly concerned at the Briton's mood over the weekend. "He's not fighting for a world championship and is at a stage of his life when it wouldn't be worth him spending two years laid up in bed with a broken back or anything else nasty. He doesn't need to take the risk any longer. He's won seven world titles and that is quite enough."

Asked who Ferrari should consider as a 'replacement', Ecclestone said: "If I could steal him, I'd take Isack Hadjar from Racing Bulls. He has done super well in his first year and is a great guy.

"I also rate our friend from Brazil (Gabriel Bortoleto). He is talented. Both of them are sensible, too."

Other than Ferrari - and its sponsors - Ecclestone's advice might not go down too well with Formula One Management who see the Briton as one of the sport's most bankable assets.