The Mercedes driver enters the 2023 season, aged 38, hoping to improve upon the joint-record of seven titles that he shares with 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Michael Schumacher.

His first title, as a McLaren driver in 2008, has now been referenced by Ecclestone who insists Hamilton sh🔯ould still be a six-time champion.

Hamilton won the 2008 title after the ‘crashgate’ scandal - where Nelson Piquet Jr crashed on purpose to help Renault teammate Fernando Alonso win the race. 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Felipe Massa, Hamilton’s title rival, was unable to score enough points as a r෴esult of the crash.

Ex-F1 supremo Ecclestone, 92, has now told : "Max Mosley [th♚ꦚen FIA president] and I was informed during the 2008 season about what had happened in the race in Singapore. Piquet Jr. had told his father Nelson that he had been asked by the team to deliberately drive into the wall at one point in order to trigger a safety car period and thus help his team-mate Alonso.

"Piquet Jr was afraid for his contract extension, so he was undeღr🀅 a lot of pressure and agreed.

“We decided n🔴ot to do anything for the time being. We wanted to protect the sport and protect it from a huge scandal. 

“That's why I p🌱ersuaded my former pilot Nelson Piꦫquet to keep calm for the time being.

"At that time there was the rule that a World Champiꩲonship classification after the FIA award ceremony at the en෴d of the year is untouchable. So Hamilton was presented with the championship trophy and everything was fine."

‘Crashgate’ was🧔 only ♊proven a year after the incident itself.

But Ecclestone admits: "We had enough information in t♚ime to investigate the matter. According to the statutes, however, we would pro🍷bably have had to cancel the race in Singapore under these conditions. That is, for the championship standings, it would never have happened. 

“Then Felipe Massa wo🎉uld have become world champion and not Lewis Hamilton.

"I st꧟ill feel sorry for Massa t⛎oday. He won the final at his home race in Sao Paulo and did everything right. He was cheated out of the deserved title, while Hamilton had all the luck in the world and won his first championship. 

“Today I would have arranged it differently. That's why Michael Schumacher is still the sole record world ch💟ampion for me. Even if the statistics say otherwise."