Ferrari chairman John Elkann under fire from F1 veteran for public Lewis Hamilton-Charles Leclerc criticism

Ferrari chairperson John Elkann has drawn criticism from Minardi F1 founder Giancarlo Minardi, after the chairman told Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to "talk less". The veteran also advised Elkann to make such criticism internally if he needs to.

John Elkann's comments about Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have received widespread criticism, with multiple experts and fans condemning the Ferrari chairperson's words. The 49-year-old had claimed that the Scuderia's drivers need to "talk less" and focus on their on-track performance.

Founder of the now defunct Minardi F1 team, Giancarlo Minardi, has become the latest big name to criticize Elkann's comments, with the 78-year-old urging him to never make such remarks publicly. Speaking on the Pit Talk podcast recently, Minardi said:

"A team president must be a good family man. Criticism is made internally, never externally." "We need management like a family man, not like a court. We need to be less critical externally and much more critical internally," he reiterated.

The 2025 season has not gone to plan at all for Ferrari. After finishing as a close runner up to McLaren in last year's constructors' championship, the Italian outfit was hoping to take the next step this season. Expectations were also high with Lewis Hamilton's arrival.

But the SF-25 has not been up to the mark in 2025, with Ferrari falling from a close second to now fourth in the constructors' standings with three rounds of the season to go. Neither of their drivers has been able to win a race this year, with Hamilton not even having stood on the podium in his first year with the team.

But John Elkann criticizing the drivers for this poor showing in 2025 has also not sat well with F1 fans and experts, who have urged him to introspect, given the Maranello-based outfit's constant failures in recent years.

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Jenson Button shares sarcastic message to John Elkann amid public criticism of the Ferrari drivers

John Elkann at the Italian Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Former F1 world champion Jenson Button was one of the other big names to criticize Ferrari chairman John Elkann after his comments about Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. The Briton asked Elkann to "lead by example" after he asked his drivers to "talk less".

Sky Sports posted a video of Elkann's remarks on Instagram on Tuesday in which he discussed the matter. Button added his response in the comments, saying:

"Maybe John should lead by example."

Ferrari have failed to win the constructors' championship since 2008. Their last drivers' title came a year before that when Kimi Raikkonen held off Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso to claim his maiden championship in 2007.

As previously mentioned, the scarlet red outfit is currently fourth in the 2025 constructors' standings. Charles Leclerc is fifth in the drivers' standings with 214 points, with Lewis Hamilton just behind in sixth with 148 points.

Edited by Mitali