From dream to nightmare: the collaboration between Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari might already be at a breaking level, amid discontent amongst engineers and the response of John Elkann. The seven-time world champion calls for adjustments in strategies and procedures, however in Maranello there are nonetheless those that firmly oppose him.
After quite a few criticisms of the group and automobile by Lewis Hamilton, albeit not at all times explicitly, Ferrari’s President appears to have chosen which aspect to take. A double retirement is rarely straightforward to simply accept, particularly at such a fragile level within the season. But, after lengthy and interminable silences, John Elkann’s response the day after Interlagos struck like a bolt from the blue.
Furthermore, the anger of Ferrari’s President isn’t even a generalized one. There isn’t a imprecise but agency insistence on outcomes for the group. Somewhat, the criticism has a really exact goal.
By calling on the drivers to speak much less and ship extra, the Exor CEO speaks on to Lewis Hamilton. In any case, what fault may Charles Leclerc probably have, having as soon as once more exceeded weekend expectations and fallen prey, innocently, to a pile-up at Flip 1? The British driver, against this, did not shine in each qualifying periods and his collision with Franco Colapinto, controversial although it might be, is hardly worthy of a seven-time world champion.
Hamilton and Ferrari on the rocks: unrest in Maranello
The phrases of John Elkann due to this fact carry a exact and direct message geared toward solely one of many two drivers. However why silence Lewis Hamilton so explicitly, on the peak of such a troubled season? The reply might lie within the corridors of the Sporting Administration, the place a sure discontent in the direction of the “new arrival” is creeping in.
As Giuliano Duchessa factors out in his evaluation on AutoRacer.it, a number of the Englishman’s feedback have stirred not a bit of unease amongst a number of the outstanding figures in Ferrari’s technical departments. The ex-Mercedes driver want to carry a number of the “Made in Brackley” tradition to his new group, altering procedures and methodologies long-established in Ferrari’s places of work.
The seven-time world champion doesn’t need to grow to be one more passive sufferer of the Ferrari system – following, so to talk, the failures of Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel – and, in his view, to return to successful requires the braveness to vary. Inside recordsdata, media statements, attitudes: a mix of things that, when not backed by constructive outcomes, might have irritated the administration.
Elkann sides with Ferrari’s engineers
Praising the work of mechanics and engineers, John Elkann chooses which aspect to absorb this dispute. The Ferrari President as soon as once more defends the operation of Frédéric Vasseur and his group, citing the current enhancements of the SF-25. Performances that definitely arrived because of the higher execution demanded by the group principal, however which should not obscure a undertaking that continues to be considerably disappointing.
Unity and shared function are being sought at a vital second for the way forward for the group. The message between the strains seems to goal to carry the drivers (or no less than considered one of them) again right down to earth, inserting everybody on the identical web page to allow them to transfer ahead collectively towards the 2026 technical revolution. Much less speak, extra outcomes: the system for a Ferrari that may observe within the footsteps of its successful sister within the WEC.
Nov 12, 2025
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