John Elkann, the Ferrari chairman, says the team is approaching the F1 2026 season with “unity and determination” after falling short of its ambitions in 2025.
It comes after he was criticised for calling for drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to “talk less” in the closing weeks of last season.
John Elkann: Ferrari approaching F1 2026 with ‘unity and determination’
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Ferrari has enjoyed a promising start to the F1 2026 campaign, recording podium finishes at the opening three races of the new season.
Leclerc has twice finished third in Australia and Japan, with Hamilton matching the result in China to secure his first podium finish for Ferrari.
Ferrari’s impressive start to the new season comes after the team suffered its third winless campaign of the decade, and its first since 2021, last year.
Lewis Hamilton vs Charles Leclerc: Ferrari head-to-head stats for F1 2026 season
F1 2026: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between teammates
F1 2026: Head-to-head race statistics between teammates
Elkann was criticised in some quarters for a scathing assessment of Ferrari’s 2025 season in the aftermath of last year’s Brazilian Grand Prix in which he said the team’s performance was “not up to par.”
He also commented that Hamilton and Leclerc should “focus on driving” and “talk less” before comparing Ferrari’s struggles in F1 to the success of its World Endurance Championship team, which won a drivers’ and manufacturers’ title double in 2025 as well as taking a third consecutive triumph at Le Mans.
He added: “Ferrari wins when it is united, as the WEC results have shown us. When everyone is together, great things can be achieved.”
In an address to Ferrari shareholders in Amsterdam this week, Elkann remarked that the team has started the F1 2026 season in a more united fashion.
He said: “At Scuderia Ferrari, we know that racing is also about learning and improving.
“After a season that fell short of our ambitions, in 2026 we embarked on a new championship under new rules.
“We are approaching it with unity and determination, focused on the work needed to come back stronger.”
On Ferrari’s WEC title success in 2025, he added: “November 8 [the date of the season finale in Bahrain] was a moment of pure joy for all of us and for fans around the world.
“Fifty years after our last overall world title in endurance racing, Ferrari has clinched both the constructors’ and drivers’ titles in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
“The excitement is clear to see on our faces.
“It is the result of talent and teamwork, at the end of a season that also saw the 499P secure a third consecutive victory at Le Mans – another extraordinary milestone in our history.”
Benedetto Vigna, the Ferrari chief executive, added that victory remains the Scuderia’s only goal in motorsport, as well as outlining plans across the wider company.
He said: “In the world of racing, our goal remains simple: we race to win.
“We are expanding our competitive arena to include endurance racing, whilst reaffirming our full commitment to the World Endurance Championship and Formula 1.
“2025 marked the start of a new strategic cycle.
“At the Capital Markets Day on October 9 in Maranello, we presented our ambitions for 2030.
“In ‘Racing’, our goal remains simple: to race to win.
“In the ‘Sports Cars’ segment, we will continue to safeguard exclusivity through horizontal product diversification, with an average of four new models per year between 2026 and 2030, including petrol, hybrid and electric powertrains.
“In the ‘Lifestyle’ segment, we will continue to enhance the customer experience and broaden our reach beyond fans and Ferrari enthusiasts.”
As reported by PlanetF1.com on Wednesday, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has conceded that the team’s straight-line speed is an area of focus as it aims to close the gap to the dominant Mercedes team.
Hamilton recently claimed that Mercedes takes a “huge step” on the straights, with the W17s of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli enjoying “a little bit more deployment” and “less de-rating at the end of the straights.”
After Hamilton took part in a two-day Pirelli tyre test at Fiorano last week, Ferrari is set to hold one of its two permitted filming days for F1 2026 at Monza on April 22 ahead of the resumption of the season with the Miami Grand Prix on May 3.
The outing at Monza, one of the most demanding circuits on the calendar in terms of energy management, should allow the team to further optimise its new F1 2026 power unit.
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