Ferrari’s empire of scarlet pride appears to be burning from within after a disastrous Brazilian Grand Prix sparked internal chaos and public reprimands. Chairman John Elkann unleashed a verbal volley at Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, urging both to “focus on driving and talk less.” The pointed remark came after a weekend marred by double DNFs, one of which saw Leclerc’s race end after a collision with rookie Kimi Antonelli, while Hamilton’s campaign imploded following early contact and irreparable car damage.
Elkann’s fury stemmed not only from the miserable performance but from what he perceives as an erosion of discipline and unity within the team. His statement—citing Ferrari’s triumph in the World Endurance Championship as proof that cohesion breeds success—was both a rebuke and a warning. “When Ferrari is united, you get results,” he declared, casting a long shadow over the team’s fractured Formula One season. For a squad starved of championship glory since 2008, such cracks in morale are proving more corrosive than any mechanical flaw.
The aftermath was explosive. Italian media characterized Elkann’s comments as “incendiary,” while insiders whispered of growing resistance among Ferrari’s senior engineers to Hamilton’s influence and feedback. Reports suggest that certain long-standing technical staff have bristled at the British driver’s demands for modernization, widening the internal divide. Public reactions, meanwhile, have been brutal—fans and pundits alike questioning why the team’s chairman chose to turn his cannons on the very men meant to resurrect its legacy.
Both drivers took to social media in attempts to steady the storm. Hamilton’s cryptic post—pledging resilience and faith in his team—hinted at underlying frustration cloaked in calm defiance. Leclerc, meanwhile, struck a tone of wounded professionalism, stressing that “only unity” could rescue Ferrari’s dwindling hopes of securing second place in the constructors’ championship. Yet their words did little to silence the growing chorus of disbelief surrounding Maranello’s apparent meltdown.
With just three races left, Ferrari faces an existential reckoning. The once-feared powerhouse of Formula One, now mired in nearly two decades of title drought, teeters between redemption and ruin. The looming Las Vegas Grand Prix will either serve as a rallying point or another act in this slow, public unraveling of an institution once synonymous with glory. What was meant to be a rebirth under Hamilton’s banner now risks becoming a cautionary tale of pride, politics, and the peril of misplaced expectations.
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