Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have released social media posts appearing to fight back at Ferrari chairman John Elkann’s statement that its Formula 1 drivers should “talk less”.
The pair suffered a woeful Sao Paulo Grand Prix, with Hamilton retiring due to car damage on the opening lap, and Leclerc an innocent victim of Oscar Piastri and Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s brush at the race restart.
It typified a disappointing and miserable season for the Scuderia, with neither driver having yet been able to achieve a single Grand Prix victory.
The fallout from the race caused Elkann, speaking at an event for the Italy-held 2026 Winter Olympic Games, to say that the team personnel and the SF-25 car have improved, adding: “If we look at the rest, it is not up to par.”
On Monday evening, Hamilton took to social media stating: “I back my team. I back myself. I will not give up. Not now, not then, not ever. Thank you, Brazil, always.”
Leclerc similarly took to his own social accounts to issue a similar riposte, which included a photograph of the Monegasque in a tactile moment with boss Fred Vasseur.
“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 2nd 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 3 races. We’ll give it all, as always.”
Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera has since reported that Elkann’s message was directly aimed at Hamilton.
“The honeymoon was already over, but now it seems a falling out despite the multi-year contract,” it said.
“Elkann is disappointed performance-wise, certain attitudes, mistakes and lost chances.”
In response, a Ferrari spokesperson told ESPN that Elkann’s comments were intended to be “constructive”.
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