Ferrari president John Elkann issued a statement on Monday which sent shockwaves around the world, saying that outside of its Formula 1 mechanics and engineers, “the rest is not up to par”.

Adding that Ferrari have “drivers who need to focus on driving, talk less,” it was a surprisingly blunt statement which sources within Ferrari suggest is meant as a motivational spur for the team. Is this the right way to do it, or has the Ferrari president made a mistake? The PlanetF1.com team has passed its judgment…

John Elkann could learn something from Lewis Hamilton

By Jamie Woodhouse

Yes, it has been a very frustrating season for Ferrari, and yes, both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have not attempted to mask this in their comments. But, why should they?

Coming off the back of the 2024 Constructors’ title challenge, Leclerc was right to expect a Ferrari which could put him in contention for the F1 2025 Drivers’ title. The SF-25 is nowhere near such a level. Leclerc’s downbeat tone throughout much of the year is justified. He has been fast, consistently. Without doubt one of the strongest performers. The car has not done his talent justice.

As for Hamilton, he said that his Ferrari “dream” has turned into something more resembling a “nightmare”. It is true, in many ways, as a brutal first season in Ferrari red continues.

Yet, Elkann could probably learn something from how Hamilton goes about trying to motivate the team in his comments to the world. Hamilton’s message has been one of encouraging united progress, and it has a far greater chance of success than finger-pointing.

Called out directly, Hamilton and Leclerc will obviously be the targets of this encouragement. But what about the staff in, let’s say, the logistics department, or communications, or catering? How will they feel if apparently only the engineers and mechanics are delivering.

This is not the way to unite and motivate a team.

Lewis Hamilton has underdelivered, but John Elkann’s comments are unnecessary

By Thomas Maher

My eyes widened when I read the comments made by Elkann on Monday, I must admit. Not since Laurent Rossi at Alpine in 2023 have I read such an unnecessary interjection from a senior leader, given that his comments do appear targeted at an individual driver, rather than both.

Presumably, this is intended to ensure Hamilton doesn’t feel singled out, but all it appears to do, externally at least, is unfairly call out Leclerc, a driver who is giving his prime years in F1 to a team unable to deliver him a car to match his talents. If I were Charles, I’d feel pretty miffed to be called out by a detached boss for unfounded suggestions of being unfocused and talking too much when, if anything, Leclerc bites his tongue and is far more diplomatic than many others would manage in his shoes.

Assuming that Elkann does actually mean Hamilton, then one has to wonder just what was expected of him. After all, Hamilton has always been a man to wear his heart on his sleeve and express how he feels. After being head-hunted from Mercedes, a deal overseen and approved by Elkann, was there an expectation that Hamilton would somehow turn out to be a different character than how he’s always been?

Sure, Hamilton has underdelivered; that much is undeniable. But there has been no shirking of responsibility from the seven-time F1 World Champion in that regard. He knows it’s not working out, and there’s little reason to doubt that he doesn’t know how to best handle his disappointment and get to grips with things; he’s been doing this for 20 years. One does not become a seven-time F1 World Champion without having high standards and expectations against which they hold themselves.

It’s worth remembering that, aside from the recent signing of Loic Serra, not a single one of Ferrari’s key figures – including Elkann – has ever overseen a World Championship victory in F1. Hamilton, in stark contrast, has won seven, with two different teams. If there’s anyone who knows what’s lacking and what needs to change, it’s Hamilton, even if his own driving talents aren’t what they once were. This experience and knowledge are what need to be listened to, not haughtily brushed aside by someone who thinks they know what it takes to win but has not demonstrated that yet.

Particularly when Hamilton is merely the latest in a long line of World Champion drivers who have also failed to find success at the team since Kimi Raikkonen’s win almost 20 years ago. The team consistently shows that it can be excellent, producing competitive cars, but always seems to lack a vital ingredient to make itself elite – an ingredient that all three of its front-running rivals have proven capable of finding.

As for the Ferrari WEC team that Elkann wishes his F1 team to emulate, it’s worth remembering that it is a partnership with a third party, AF Corse. If Ferrari’s successes here are achieved through outsourcing, then perhaps the same idea should be explored for the F1 arm of the company, or it appears the same cycle is doomed to endlessly repeat.

At what point does Ferrari acknowledge that, maybe, just maybe, its issues are not driver or team-boss-related and, instead, are indicative of a culture of heart, passion, enthusiasm, and a frightening lack of introspection and logic?

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Polarising comments at an unusual time

By Henry Valantine

I wrote about this issue in a recent column, but it still bears truth that, even though it has been indicated that Elkann’s words were to bring the team round and motivate them to work together, this approach very much goes one of two ways.

Either the team does as he asks by working together and achieving great things, or the team still tries working hard together, but results do not arrive and underlying tensions or divides set in further.

Now, Elkann has some merit in the sense he is trying to rally the troops in what appears likely at this stage to be a first winless season since 2021.

To speak like this publicly after 21 races, when cars are very likely set for the rest of the season, ahead of massive regulation changes coming next year, feels like unusual timing.

When it’s halfway through the season and the team needs a bit of a talking-to after an underwhelming start? Fair enough, but saying this so close to the end of the season when there’s unlikely to be time to do much about it? It doesn’t make as much sense.

Both Hamilton and Leclerc posted on social media in the aftermath of Elkann’s comments, and both took a tone fitting of their positive attitude to try and turn things around.

Leclerc even parroted one of the key talking points, writing on X: “It’s uphill from now and it’s clear that only unity can help us turn that situation around in the last 3 races.”

Regardless of the outcome in the Constructors’ standings, it sounds like both drivers and team will look ahead to Abu Dhabi and gather what little respite they can before they catapult into a new era altogether. I’m sure there will be less to say if the team’s 2026 challenger proves the class of the field.

Elkann should take his own advice

By Mat Coch

Throughout much of F1’s history, Ferrari was a bit-part player. There have been titles, but there have also been long spells of (relative) mediocrity; from 1961, it didn’t win the title again until 1975, it went without a drivers’ crown from 1979 to 2000. When viewed in that light, the version of Ferrari that we are currently seeing is about what we’ve grown to expect from the Scuderia.

Elkann has only been at the helm since 2018. He has not personally tasted success in F1, and so we can surmise that he’s getting antsy, especially when his own personal influence has failed to deliver results.

Elkann was instrumental in the arrival of Lewis Hamilton to the team this season. It was a significant signing, arguably the highest profile move in F1 history. But it is fair to suggest that, so far, the relationship hasn’t lived up to expectations, whatever they might have been.

But what can fairly be expected from a driver now in his 40s arriving at a new team, one that doesn’t speak English as its first language? Hamilton’s form is not notably different to what he was displaying at Mercedes, and he’s not changed his personality, so there’s a strong argument to suggest Ferrari has got exactly what it paid for.

As Thomas Maher wrote above, Hamilton wears his heart on his sleeve, it’s one of his most endearing traits as it makes him relatable. He doesn’t like losing, and does not accept mediocrity – these are traits that have made him a multiple world champion, and there others on the grid who would do well to learn that lesson.

Charles Leclerc hasn’t been as lugubrious in his comments and has sung from the Maranello hymn sheet in his dealings with the media. He has delivered more consistently on track, so when Elkann offers criticism of the drivers, it’s difficult to believe his comments were meant for Leclerc.

Therefore, we have to assume Elkann has taken aim at Hamilton.

So what has changed? How has the relationship turned so sour so quickly that Elkann has felt the need to publicly disparage a man he personally pursued? Further, what makes Elkann right?

Ferrari hasn’t been successful for the better part of 20 years, but its performances are also on par with what it has delivered for the last five or so years. But taking a step back, when Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, and Lewis Hamilton can’t succeed with the team, three absolute top tier drivers, there is a strong call for introspection and humility.

As Jenson Button said, rather than offering public criticism he should lead by example, and perhaps that means taking his own advice and talking less.