Ferrari chairman John Elkann says the team’s Formula 1 drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc “need to focus on driving and talk less”.
Elkann’s remarks followed a Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend in which Ferrari suffered a double retirement and Hamilton called his maiden season with the team a “nightmare”. The result dropped Ferrari to fourth in the constructors’ championship; they are 36 points behind Mercedes and four behind Red Bull with three grands prix and a sprint remaining.
Speaking at an Olympics sponsorship event in Rome, Elkann praised the mechanics and engineers but said “if we look at the rest, it is not up to scratch.” He added: “And we definitely have drivers who need to focus on driving and talk less because we still have important races ahead of us and getting second place is not impossible. In Bahrain, we won the World Endurance Championship title. When Ferrari is united, we get results.”
His comments reflect frustration at a team that came close to the constructors’ crown last year but has not won a grand prix this season. They are said to be meant constructively as a spur to improvement.
McLaren, who finished just 14 points behind Ferrari last year, clinched the title this season with six races remaining. The constructors’ championship determines teams’ prize money, with each position nearer the top worth roughly $10m (£7.6m) compared with the place below.
Leclerc said on social media that Sao Paulo had been a “very difficult” weekend after Ferrari scored only six points overall, thanks to Leclerc and Hamilton finishing fifth and seventh respectively in the sprint. “Disappointing to come back home with nearly no points at all for the team in what is a critical moment of the season to fight for the second place in the constructors’ championship,” he wrote. “It’s uphill from now and it’s clear that only unity can help us turn that situation around in the last three races. We’ll give it all, as always.”
Hamilton won the sprint race in China earlier in the season but has yet to stand on a grand prix podium this year. Leclerc, who had qualified third in Sao Paulo, was taken out of the race in a crash with Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli after the Italian collided with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. Leclerc has seven podiums this season, with best finishes of second in Monaco and Mexico.
