Charles Leclerc insisted that Ferrari is “aligned” in its goals to return to the top of Formula 1, after chairman John Elkann’s comments on how its drivers should “talk less”.
Elkann made the comments last week, in the aftermath of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, in which Leclerc and team-mate Lewis Hamilton both failed to finish after two separate incidents.
The statement was construed as a public dressing-down of Leclerc and Hamilton, having praised the other members of the team, with both men taking to social media in what was, in turn, construed as a riposte to the remarks.
The Interlagos double-DNF saw the Scuderia lose ground in the race for second place in the Constructors’ Championship, with Mercedes cementing second, with Red Bull in third place.
This weekend’s Las Vegas race gives Leclerc a chance to help remedy the situation, and revealed that he and Elkann were communicating around the time of his remarks.
“Yeah, I mean, obviously, I mean John and I know each other since many, many years,” he explaned to media including Motorsport Week.
“So we have a very good relationship and obviously, we’ve been working together for many years, so, we know each other, and I know John is a very ambitious person and wants to push every people to the maximum In order to have the maximum results.”
‘We all love Ferrari’ – Leclerc says improvement the priority
Leclerc doubled down on the positive nature of Elkann’s comments, and explained that he called Leclerc to clarify that he intended the comments to be a rallying cry to buoy the team’s mission to improve.
“He loves Ferrari, I love Ferrari. We all love Ferrari,” he expressed. “And we try to do the best in every situation.
“I didn’t actually saw the news, but John called me before that, just like he does after every race, to catch up and to also tell me that the message he wanted to send was a positive one in saying, ‘yeah, we need to do better’ and that is clear for everyone.
“So, really, we are aligned and I’ll do absolutely everything In order to bring back Ferrari to the top. This I’ve always said in the past. And I’ve always tried my best.
“I’ll try to do better and that really is the priority in the team and what we want to achieve.”
READ MORE – Where Charles Leclerc believes Ferrari’s disappointing 2025 can be considered ‘a good season’
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