Ferrari chairman John Elkann has urged his Formula 1 drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to “focus on driving and talk less”. His remarks followed a disappointing Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend that saw a double retirement for the team and Hamilton describe his first season with Ferrari as a “nightmare”.
The result dropped Ferrari to fourth in the constructors’ standings. With three grands prix and a sprint remaining, they sit 36 points behind Mercedes and four behind Red Bull.
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.”
The comments reflect frustration at a team that came close to the constructors’ title last year but has not won a grand prix this season. They are said to be intended as constructive, a spur to improve.
McLaren, who finished only 14 points behind Ferrari last year, wrapped up this season’s title with six races to go. The constructors’ championship affects teams’ prize money, with each place gained near the top worth roughly $10m (£7.6m) over the position below.
Leclerc called Sao Paulo “a very difficult” weekend on social media, saying it was “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 added that it is “uphill from now” and that “only unity can help us turn that situation around in the last three races.”
Ferrari scored just six points at the event, thanks to Leclerc and Hamilton finishing fifth and seventh respectively in the sprint. Hamilton has won the sprint race in China earlier this season but has yet to reach a grand prix podium for Ferrari. Leclerc, who qualified third in Sao Paulo but was taken out of the race in a crash with Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli after the Italian collided with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, has seven podiums this year, with his best results being second in Monaco and Mexico.
