Ferrari president John Elkann launched a stunning attack on Formula 1 drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc following a disastrous Sao Paulo Grand Prix, telling them to “talk less and focus on driving”. Neither driver managed to score a single point in Sunday’s race, both retiring after sustaining damage in separate incidents.
On the same day, Ferrari’s World Endurance Championship outfit secured the title at the Eight Hours of Bahrain. The trio of Italian Alessandro Pier Guidi, former Sauber F1 racer Antonio Giovinazzi and Britain’s James Calado finished fourth in the Gulf state to clinch the drivers’ title, whilst Ferrari finished 74 points clear at the summit of the manufacturers’ standings.
However, things have been far more difficult in F1 this year, especially for Hamilton who has found it hard to adapt to his new environment. Other than a Sprint race victory in Shanghai back in March, there have been few high points.
Yet, it’s evident that Scuderia Ferrari’s problems run deeper, highlighted by Leclerc’s inability to secure a Grand Prix victory this year despite making few errors.
Nevertheless, Elkann, who was in Bahrain instead of Brazil, directed his criticism at the drivers for Ferrari’s lack of competitiveness this season. The Italian said: “We won the WEC title – when Ferrari is united, you get results. [But] Brazil was a huge disappointment.
“If we look at the Formula 1 championship, we can say that our mechanics are winning the championship with their performance and everything they’ve done on the pit stops. If we look at our engineers, there’s no doubt that the car has improved. If we look at the rest, it’s not up to par. And we certainly have drivers for whom it’s important that they focus on driving and talk less.”
Ferrari currently sit fourth in the constructors’ championship with just three races remaining, having dropped behind both Mercedes and Red Bull in recent weeks. They remain the only team in the top four yet to claim a Grand Prix victory in 2025.
Hamilton, who could only manage 13th on the grid in Sao Paulo before ultimately retiring from the race due to damage, offered a bleak assessment afterwards: “This is a nightmare and I’ve been living it for a while. To flip between the dream of driving for this amazing team and the nightmare of the results we’ve had, the ups and downs, it’s challenging.
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Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were singled out for criticism(Image: Getty Images)
“Tomorrow, I’ll get back up, I’ll keep training and working with the team. I really wanted to get into the points this weekend, but I’ll come back as strong as I can in the next race and try to recover it.”
Leclerc added: “It’s frustrating, considering that we are fighting for second place in the constructors’ championship. It will be difficult for us to secure that position now, and we have to execute the next three weekends perfectly to have a chance to do so. The reaction of our whole team who turned the situation around completely from Friday to today has been a really good effort.”
