He also criticised Sebastian Vettel for not 'putting himself out there' after winning four

Bernie Ecclestone says Lewis Hamilton is as good as Juan Manuel Fangio, Michael Schumacher and all the other greats of the track.

The Formula One Group chief executive was speaking in his air-conditioned office in the Sepang paddock before Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix, squinting through his John Lennon glasses at the state of the sport he has spent his life moulding.

F1 has taken a pounding from the public and pundits since the processional opening race in Melbourne a fortnight ago. Only 75 per cent of the cars started. Only 11 drivers finished. Several teams are on the brink of bankruptcy.

Lewis Hamilton is pictured in the paddock on Friday after ending the second session on top of the timesheets

Bernie Ecclestone, 84, rates Hamilton as the best world champion Formula One has ever had

Ecclestone is ‘disappointed’ but in Hamilton he sees only positives: a distinctive character who sells the sport by his deeds at the wheel and his celebrity on the red carpet. ‘He’s the best world champion we’ve had,’ said Ecclestone.

‘As a driver he is absolutely outstanding — as good as there’s ever been. Apart from the talent, he’s a good guy, he gets out on the street and supports and promotes Formula One. He is box office, 100 per cent.

‘It doesn’t matter what comes out of Lewis’s mouth, it’s good — even if it’s silly. It’s great for the sport. I told Sebastian (Vettel) he should do what Lewis is doing — put himself out there. He won four titles but went to ground.

‘He should have done the job of world champion. He got paid money for being champion. These guys think their only job is racing a car. It goes a bit further than that.

The Briton, relaxing in the Mercedes garage, is bidding to win his second consecutive championship

Hamilton has helped boost the profile of Formula One, seen here with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian

‘Most don’t think about a life beyond Formula One. Jackie Stewart is still making quite a bit of money and he hasn’t been in a car for a few years.’

Ecclestone, 84, is criticised for selling the sport’s soul to ever higher bidders, with Baku in Azerbaijan due to be added to the calendar next year and the German Grand Prix off for this season, with no guarantee of a return.

Ecclestone said that even Monza, the track central to Italy’s love affair with motor racing, could be another victim.

‘It would be terrible, but if it goes, it goes,’ he said. ‘It’s funny how these people dig up money for things like the Olympics, European athletics and God knows what else. People say we charge too much for a race, and they are probably right, but teams get 62 per cent of the profit the company makes, so if we make less money, the teams make less money.’

Hamilton ended the second session in Sepang leading the way after missing most of the morning

Hamilton parades the Union Jack after sealing last year's championship at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Ecclestone was speaking after meeting team principals, when he laid out ideas for improvement. Controversially, he wants to bring back double points, introduced to widespread ridicule for the final round of the 2014 season.

‘Last year we didn’t know who the world champion was until the last corner of the last race,’ he said. ‘It was exciting. I’d like to extend it to the last three races.’ And then there are the sprinklers to create artificially wet races. Ecclestone said: ‘We should do that. Why not have six races where there’s something different?

‘I also suggested that we give 20 points over a weekend. Ten points for pole and 10 for winning the race. Then the one on pole starts maybe 12th on the grid, so you get a bunch of decent guys starting in the middle of the field.’

Sebastian Vettel, the four-time world champion, speaks to Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen on Friday

Vettel, on track during the second practice session, for the second round of the championship in Malaysia

What chance is there of these innovations being introduced? First, Ecclestone, would need agreement from the teams. ‘They need to think about it,’ he said. ‘It’s difficult for them — we’ve only been talking for five meetings!’

There is no way of reining in Hamilton’s Mercedes team or of spreading the prize-money more evenly. Ecclestone works for private equity firm CVC, criticised for taking out too much profit and investing too little in the future.

But he explained: ‘We’ve got an old house and we keep repairing it. It’s not really the way to go but we can’t tear up contracts that have been signed.

‘Mercedes have the best engine, the best chassis, the best team, two of the best drivers, so they are entitled to win. It’s not good blaming them.’

Hamilton is favourite to seal back-to-back titles with Mercedes yet again boasting the best package

That is true — even if it means that Renault leave the sport as managing director Cyril Abiteboul hinted on Friday, if ‘Formula One is that bad for our reputation’.

There are few cares in Hamilton’s world. He was fastest in practice on Friday, despite missing the morning session with an engine problem.