Damon Hill drops his verdict on Ferrari's John Elkann criticising Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc

Damon Hill shared his thoughts on John Elkann's criticism of the Ferrari drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. Speaking about it in a recent interview, Hill stated that the public criticism was a "bit harsh."

Following the conclusion of the 2025 Brazil GP, Elkann slammed Hamilton and Leclerc after both drivers faced a DNF and lost multiple important Championship points. Addressing the media, Elkann, who serves as the Ferrari president, stated that the drivers need to 'talk less and focus on driving.'

This critical take by Elkann was received negatively by a huge part of the critics and former drivers. They not only slammed the Ferrari president, but also asked for a more constructive take, and one of them was Hill.

Hill, the 1996 F1 champion, spoke about this in the recent Stay on Track podcast with Johnny Herbert. Here's what he said:

"Lewis was making all these noises about having discussions and I got the impression that Lewis was in there with the management, sort of saying, 'This is not working the way it needs to work, these things can be improved'," Hill added.

"So to have gone to the effort to try and make the right changes, or get things moving in the right direction and change maybe the culture coming from Mercedes, with his insights there, and now going to Ferrari and saying, one or two things could be better, to now be told they need to shut up...it's a little harsh, perhaps."

Notably, the double DNF by Ferrari in Brazil wasn't the only time the Prancing Horse lost enormous points. In China, both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc faced disqualification due to excessive plank wear.

As a consequence, the Italian team lost points which could have put them in P2 of the Constructors' Championship. However, they are currently in P4, behind Mercedes and Red Bull.

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Damon Hill termed John Elkann's criticism of Lewis Hamilton and Co. "demoralising"

Damon Hill, the former F1 champion, termed John Elkann's criticism towards Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc "demoralising." Speaking about it, the 1996 champion stated that publicly criticising the drivers instead of privately handling it can be undermining.

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil - Source: Getty

"It can be quite... I don't know what the right word for it is. It's not humiliating, but it can be demoralising a little bit. I'm sure he must have said that to them in private, but when you say something in public, then it can be undermining."

Currently, Leclerc and Hamilton are in P5 and P6 of the Drivers' Championship with 214 and 148 points, respectively. Ferrari are in P4 in the Constructors' Championship with 366 points.

Edited by Sabyasachi Biswas