Bernie Ecclestone has never been one to hide his opinions, especially when it comes to his beloved Formula One.

The former owner of the sport loves to share his thoughts and opinions on the sport, even more so since he was removed from his role by new owners Liberty Media.

The controversial figure was loved by plenty, but hated by many as well, and his latest remarks about the sport are bound to cause debate amongst fans.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, as per GPFans, Ecclestone has claimed that Ferrari would rather sign Red Bull driver Max Verstappen than six-time world champion and the face of F1 Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton, who is dominating the sport in his Mercedes car, recently won his sixth world title, putting him just one behind Michael Schumacher's record haul of seven.

But despite that, Ecclestone believes officials at the Prancing Horse would rather capture youngster Verstappen.

The 89-year-old has been quoted saying: "Ferrari is a strange place to work. Lewis doesn't speak Italian. They might gang up on him — or fall in love with him — but I don't think he would do as good a job for himself or the sport as he is doing with Mercedes.

If Ferrari had a choice of Lewis or Max Verstappen I think they would go for Max, for the same reason they like Charles.

"With Sebastian Vettel or Lewis they will only get a couple of years but with the younger two they might get 10 years. I'm not sure Max isn't the best guy at the moment, including Lewis."

Verstappen vs Hamilton has been a very exciting battle over the past two years, but whilst the Brit remains in the best car, he more often than not ends up on the winning side.

Put the Dutchman into a Ferrari, that will hopefully improve in the near future, then that battle could get even more exciting.

Whether Verstappen would want to swap Red Bull for Ferrari right now, however, is another matter.