{"id":256329,"date":"2025-11-11T06:32:36","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T06:32:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/256329\/"},"modified":"2025-11-11T06:32:36","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T06:32:36","slug":"ferrari-tell-lewis-hamilton-to-talk-less-after-he-labels-season-a-nightmare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/256329\/","title":{"rendered":"Ferrari tell Lewis Hamilton to talk less after he labels season a nightmare"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Ferrari<\/a> chairman John Elkann has said his drivers should talk less and focus on performing after Lewis Hamilton admitted his dream move to Ferrari has become a nightmare.<\/p>\n

Elkann\u2019s comments appeared to defend the mechanics and engineers at Ferrari, despite neither driver having registered a victory this season with the car clearly off the pace compared to McLaren<\/a> and Max Verstappen in the Red Bull.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrazil was a huge disappointment,\u201d said Elkann, who still hopes his team can finish second in the constructors\u2019 championship. \u201cIf we look at the Formula 1 championship, we can say that our mechanics are winning the championship with their performance and everything they\u2019ve done on the pitstops [leading the standings for the fastest pitstop award]. If we look at our engineers, there\u2019s no doubt that the car has improved. <\/p>\n

\"Bapco<\/p>\n

Elkann says the engineers have improved the car and the mechanics are \u201cwinning the championship\u201d but \u201cthe rest is not up to par\u201d<\/p>\n

ALESSIO DE MARCO\/SHUTTERSTOCK<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we look at the rest, it\u2019s not up to par. And we certainly have drivers who it\u2019s important that they focus on driving and talk less, because we still have important races ahead of us and it\u2019s not impossible to get second place.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Hamilton\u2019s<\/a> comments after Brazil were notable, his team-mate Charles Leclerc has also criticised the potential of the car, repeatedly saying that he has extracted the absolute maximum from the package but been unable to fight for victories. Elkann did not specifically mention Fred Vasseur, the Ferrari team principal, whom he publicly backed last month after rumours linking Christian Horner to the team.<\/p>\n

Hamilton, 40, joined Ferrari this season with the aim of challenging for world titles. After 21 rounds he is yet to even stand on the podium after a grand prix, his solitary success coming in the sprint race in China (and he was disqualified in the main race that weekend).<\/p>\n

He is sixth in the drivers\u2019 championship, 66 points behind fifth-placed Leclerc, who has seven podium finishes.<\/p>\n

\"Ferrari's<\/p>\n

Hamilton required a pitstop to change the damaged front end of the Ferrari but it could not prevent his eventual retirement in Sao Paulo<\/p>\n

JEAN CARNIELAFP<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a nightmare, and I have been living it for a while. The flip between the dream of driving for this amazing team and the nightmare of the results we have had, the ups and downs, it\u2019s challenging,\u201d Hamilton told Sky Sports.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut tomorrow I\u2019ll get back up, I\u2019ll keep training, keep working with the team. We really wanted to get them the points this weekend, but I\u2019ll come back as strong as I can in the next race to repay them.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Sunday\u2019s Brazilian Grand Prix<\/a>, won by Lando Norris, Hamilton qualified in 13th place, while Leclerc managed third. That left Hamilton in the chaotic mid-grid zone at the start of the race, and he first touched tyres with Carlos Sainz, losing all momentum and dropping to the back of the field, before misjudging a move on Franco Colapinto and clipping the rear end of the Alpine. He received a five-second penalty for the latter, which he served before retiring on lap 39 with significant damage to the front end of his car, and the floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be wrong to say there are no positives at all,\u201d Hamilton later told Viaplay. \u201cIf you look at Charles\u2019s performance in qualifying, it shows the car does have some pace in it. But we are just really having to fight through those hardships at the moment. I have to believe these hardships lead to\u2026 I believe there is something extraordinary up ahead in my life and in my destiny.<\/p>\n

\"Ferrari's<\/p>\n

It was a disastrous grand prix for Ferrari, with Hamilton\u2019s team-mate, Leclerc, also forced to retire after a collision caused by Oscar Piastri<\/p>\n

AMANDA PEROBELLI\/REUTERS<\/p>\n

\u201cI truly still believe in this team and what we can achieve together. I just have to keep pushing and keep giving them everything I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

While it was a difficult weekend for Hamilton in Brazil \u2014 where he is an honorary citizen \u2014 in one of his favourite races and where he secured the first of his seven world titles in 2008, it was disastrous for Ferrari\u2019s hopes of clinching second place in the constructors\u2019 championship. Leclerc also failed to finish the race, which left Ferrari fourth in the standings.<\/p>\n

Next year is make or break for Hamilton but Bearman rumours are untrue<\/p>\n

For weeks now, this has been an arduous season which both Hamilton and Ferrari look eager to finish. Hamilton has probably done as much adapting as it is possible to do in this year\u2019s car, while getting used to Ferrari team dynamics and providing feedback on how he believes they can improve. He has struggled, but so too have Ferrari (Molly Hudson writes).<\/p>\n

Still, Charles Leclerc is the better qualifier, but that is not necessarily a surprise given many in F1 believe he is the best qualifier on the grid. Next year, alongside the significant regulation changes for both the chassis and engine, Hamilton hopes the car Ferrari design will include some of the \u201ccharacteristics\u201d, as he describes it, he prefers.<\/p>\n

Next year is almost certainly make or break for his hopes of winning an elusive eighth championship \u2014 another season like this, for a driver who turns 41 in January, would be beneficial to neither him nor the team.<\/p>\n

Ferrari have not officially announced Hamilton\u2019s contract length, but it is likely to be a three-year deal given Hamilton alluded to the fact he usually re-negotiates a year before its expiry, and he had not yet done so.<\/p>\n

\"F1<\/p>\n

Bearman earned another point on his licence at the weekend and rumours suggesting he is already lined up to replace Hamilton are untrue<\/p>\n

FLORENT GOODEN\/SHUTTERSTOCK<\/p>\n

Most contracts include performance or exit clauses for either the team or driver \u2014 realistically, it is understood Hamilton will assess how he performs, and how the car performs, next season before deciding on his long-term future.<\/p>\n

Reports that Ferrari have already decided to replace him with Ollie Bearman at the end of the 2026 season are untrue \u2014 it is simply too early to have made that decision. The Times understands Ferrari are closely monitoring Bearman\u2019s progress, and feel the decision to place him at Haas, a team where he is able to make mistakes and learn somewhat out of the spotlight, is paying off.<\/p>\n

Bearman produced another mature display in the race on Sunday, finishing sixth, after his brilliant fourth in Mexico City. But his rookie mistakes may well come back to haunt him. He accrued another penalty point at the weekend, meaning he is on nine for the 12-month period, after being adjudged to have pushed Liam Lawson onto the grass during the sprint race. Crucially, none of those points will be removed until May next year, forcing Bearman to walk a disciplinary tightrope for months. Reaching 12 points would trigger a one-race ban, the kind of costly penalty he could ill afford at Ferrari.<\/p>\n

Bearman has raw speed, and any decision-maker in Formula 1 will explain that is the crucial element which cannot be taught. The consistency Bearman has lacked can be improved, and in a year\u2019s time there is no reason to believe the British driver wouldn\u2019t be ready for a step up to the senior team. Bearman is on a two-plus-one loan deal at Haas, which essentially means Haas and Ferrari will re-assess after the conclusion of the 2026 season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Ferrari chairman John Elkann has said his drivers should talk less and focus on performing after Lewis…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":256330,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49,50,51,47,52,48],"class_list":{"0":"post-256329","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/256330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}