Ferrari’s refusal to change sparks Hamilton row – Lewis Hamilton finds himself in good company having been lambasted by Ferrari group chairman, John Elkann. When Fernando Alonso was driving for the team in 2013, he was asked what he would like after as a birthday present after finishing a lowly fifth in Singapore. The Spaniard quipped: “someone else’s car.”
This sparked a furore in Maranello with the PR department releasing an unusual statement about a conversation between the then chairman, Luca de Montezemolo and his Spanish driver. “All the great champions who have driven for Ferrari have always been asked to put the interests of the team above their own,” it opened.
According to the statement, Di Montezemolo also insisted that “this is the moment to stay calm, avoid polemics and show humility and determination in making one’s own contribution, standing alongside the team and its people both at the track and outside it”.
Alonso’s ear “tweaked”
It also remarkably revealed that Di Montezemolo had said in the team meeting on Monday that, “there is a need to close ranks, without giving in to rash outbursts that, while understandable in the immediate aftermath of a bad result, are no use to anyone”.
It was also reported that there Ferrari boss had called Alonso to wish him a happy birthday, but during that call Montezemolo had “tweaked his ear” for his latest comments. A year later and after another Ferrari failure as the 2014 new V6 turbo hybrid era was ushered in, Fernando left the Scuderia reportedly saying he believed they could not win another championship. He blamed the dysfunctional nature of how the team operated for this damning conclusion.
Lewis Hamilton along with team mate Charles Leclerc this week also received an “ear tweak” from the current Ferrari chairman. John Elkann praised the engineers and the mechanics of the Scuderia for doing an excellent job.However, he lambasted his drivers stating, “We have drivers who need to focus on driving, talk less, and we have important races ahead of us, and it is not impossible to finish second.”
In his post race interview in Brazil, Lewis described his first season at Ferrari as a “nightmare” yet it was not this which drew the ire of the Ferrari boss. Prior to the summer break, Hamilton revealed he had “called” a number of meetings with department heads in Maranello and that, “I’ve sent documents. I’ve done [that] through the year.”
Hamilton’s efforts to bring changes
“After the first few races I did a full document for the team, then during this break [between races] I had another two documents that I sent in and so they would come in and want to address those. Some of it’s structural, adjustments that we need to make as a team in order to get better in all the areas that we want to improve. Then the other one was really about the car.”
Hamilton had revealed earlier at the Canadian Grand Prix there was a lot going on behind the scenes in Maranello that was not public knowledge. “I think what all you guys don’t see is what’s happening in the background. And there’s a lot going on,” he said. “There’s a lot that needs improving. A lot of things need to be changed. For me, I know we’re not fighting for a win this year.”
Following a disappointing result in Budapest, Hamilton had shed more light on the situation at Ferrari saying: “When you feel something, well, it’s still a feeling. A lot of things are happening in the background, which is not great.” A deflated Lewis then suggested the team should change the driver – almost as though he’d given up on trying to help reform the way Ferrari work.
Hamilton is attempting to do what both Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel tried, which is bringing his expertise from a winning team to Maranello in an effort to return them to the glory days. Yet it is likely he is receiving the same treatment as Sebastian Vettel before him.
Mekies was ordered to ‘stop’ Verstappen
Vettel tried Ferrari reform
Sometime following his departure, the former press officer for the team, Alberto Antonini, lifted the curtain on what its like for a driver to effect change behind the scenes at Ferrari HQ. “He just started, I’m going to be blunt, annoying some people by telling them ‘that’s not the way we did it at Red Bull’,” he said. Staff at Ferrari responded by saying, ‘You’re not at Red Bull now, you’re at Ferrari.’”
Hamilton talking about ‘structural adjustments’ is likely to stem from his experience of serial winning with Mercedes, but once again it appears the ears of those in Maranello are closed to any advice on how they can break their nigh on two decades of failure to win a championship.
Whilst having been generally supportive of Hamilton despite his woes this year, the Italian media are now split in their views of the seven times champion. Writing in Corriere della Sera, Daniele Sparisci said the presidential outburst “was addressed specifically to Lewis,” adding, “the honeymoon is over.”
“Elkann is disappointed with his performance and a certain attitude. Hamilton, who has never stood on the podium, often voices criticism – from internal dossiers to FIA penalties. In Brazil, he called the stewards a ‘joke’ and was penalised five seconds for a collision with Colapinto. These are the kinds of scandals Ferrari carefully avoids,” Sparisci concludes.
It’s a Ferrari problem
On the other hand F1 veteran Ferrari insider, Leo Turini, turned his fire back upon the Ferrari organisation itself. After jesting Charles Leclerc has been waiting for a decent car from Ferrari since high school, he was visceral in his criticism of the Ferrari chairman.
“If the grandson of Gianni Agnelli really thinks Ferrari’s problem is talkative drivers, then, at the very least, he needs to change his advisers, his consultants, his managers. Because believe me – if since Schumacher and Räikkönen Ferrari hasn’t seen glory, it’s not Alonso’s fault, not Vettel’s, not Leclerc’s, and not Hamilton’s. And if that isn’t understood, then truly, we’ll never win again.”
Turini is regarded as an oracle by the tifosi and his scathing attack on the Ferrari chairmen has sent shock waves throughout Italian motorsport.
So Lewis Hamilton is treading a well worn path in his attempts to try and reform Ferrari and bring them back to winning ways. Yet the latest “tweak of the ear” may be a sign that those engineers set in their ways in Maranello, have the backing of their chairman and its time to ‘put up, or shut up’ for Leclerc and Hamilton.
Elkann is plain wrong: Results have not “improved”
John Elkann issued a withering attack on his Formula One Ferrari drivers the day after the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. The all powerful Ferrari Chairman claimed his drivers need to “focus more and talk less,” and that the car as “undoubtedly improved”, and the rest of the team, with the exception of the Maranello based engineers, is “not up to standard.”
Within hours both drivers had taken to social media with Lewis Hamilton pointedly observing, “I back my team, I back myself” and Leclerc somewhat playing teacher’s pet echoing the words of his big boss saying, ”it’s uphill from now and it’s clear only unity can help us”.
Sensational stuff and we will have to wait ten days or so to see the more detailed response of the race team together with that of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. Yet the Italian media have been pointing the finger of accusation elsewhere this season, with team boss and senior engineers persistently coming under fire… READ MORE
A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
At TJ13, Andrew plays a central role in shaping the site’s output, working across breaking news, analysis, and long-form features. Andrew’s responsibilities include fact-checking, refining editorial structure, and ensuring consistency in reporting across a fast-moving news cycle.
Andrew’s work focuses particularly on the intersection of Formula 1 politics, regulation, and team strategy. Andrew closely follows developments involving the FIA, team leadership, and driver market dynamics, helping to provide context behind the sport’s biggest stories.
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