Charles Leclerc reveals what John Elkann told him in phone call just before his media outburst

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John Elkann launched a stunning attack on his star-studded driver line-up after the Brazilian GP, and Charles Leclerc has revealed what the Ferrari chairman told him in a private phone call just before he spoke to the press.

Following Ferrari’s second double retirement of the season at Interlagos, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were slammed by John Elkann in a fiery interview with Italian journalists.

The Ferrari chairman praised the work of the Scuderia’s engineers at Maranello, but stated that his drivers need to focus on talking less in the media and recording more respectable results in Grands Prix.

F1 fans leapt to the defence of Hamilton as they inferred the 49-year-old’s comments to be more aimed at the seven-time world champion rather than the Monegasque.

Hamilton is yet to score his first top-three Grand Prix finish with Ferrari, whilst Leclerc has achieved seven podiums so far this year.

READ MORE: What Ferrari are privately saying about John Elkann’s attack on Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc

Charles Leclerc reveals details of a private phone call with John Elkann before his outburst in the media

During their Wednesday afternoon media duties for the upcoming Las Vegas Grand Prix, both Hamilton and Leclerc were asked about their sentiments regarding the criticism from Elkann, which was reportedly meant to be constructive.

After the Brit stated that he was aware of the Ferrari chairman’s intentions following the comments, Leclerc told his version of events via Sky Sports F1, saying, “I’m not on social media much, but I heard about this quite quickly.

“John called me, like he does after every Grand Prix, and we spoke about everything, including about what he intended to say. John wanted to be constructive and push the team to do better.

“The best thing I can do as a driver is focus on the track and do my best. That’s what I’ve always done and will continue to do.

“That doesn’t mean we can’t do anything better. We can, and we take that as a motivation to try and do better. Hopefully results will come as soon as possible.”

Elkann has been told to focus on the ‘real issue’ at Ferrari rather than solely blaming his drivers for the iconic Italian racing outfit’s sub-optimal results this season by multiple figures within the F1 paddock.

READ MORE: Ralf Schumacher tells Charles Leclerc what he ‘definitely’ should do after John Elkann’s outburst

Ferrari’s result in Brazil saw them fall from second place in the F1 standings

Heading into the race weekend in Sao Paulo, Ferrari held a very fragile one-point advantage over Mercedes in the F1 standings.

After the chequered flag fell, and Kimi Antonelli took home his second top-three finish of the weekend, Ferrari fell down the order to behind Red Bull in fourth place.

The battle for second place in the constructors’ standings is so tight that things can change from race weekend to race weekend as the F1 calendar reaches a head.

Ferrari now sit 36 points behind the Silver Arrows in the hunt for the runners-up position, and four points behind Red Bull, who are currently relying on Max Verstappen for the vast majority of their points in the standings.

The Prancing Horse will need a stark change in form on the Las Vegas Strip, requiring a big swing of points in their favour to retake the position behind McLaren.