Fred Vasseur phone call may have sparked Ferrari chairman John Elkann’s ‘attack’ on Lewis Hamilton

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Team principal Fred Vasseur may have played a role in Ferrari chairman John Elkann’s outburst aimed at Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc after the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Elkann launched a shock attack at both Ferrari drivers on Monday after the Scuderia had yet another disappointing outing in the 2025 F1 season at the Sao Paulo GP. Ferrari slipped from second to fourth place in the constructors’ standings after scoring a mere six points in Brazil.

Their woe started in Sprint Qualifying, as Leclerc only managed P8 and Hamilton bowed out with P11 in SQ2. While Leclerc then qualified P3 for the main race, Hamilton only qualified P13 for the Sao Paulo GP. Ferrari also endured their second double DNF of 2025 last Sunday.

Fred Vasseur’s excuses for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix may have caused John Elkann’s outburst

Leclerc parked up to retire from the Sao Paulo GP on Lap 6/71 after being an innocent victim of the Turn 1 crash between McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli. A double DNF then beckoned on L38 as Ferrari told Hamilton to stop due to his damaged floor.

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Hamilton rear-ended Franco Colapinto on Lap 1 of the Sao Paulo GP whilst trying to recover, having fallen behind the Alpine pilot after contact with Carlos Sainz of Williams. The Briton’s front wing fell off in the crash and became lodged underneath his car, which ruined his floor.

As Ferrari endured such a disappointing result in Brazil, Top Speed reports that Elkann called team principal Vasseur after the Sao Paulo GP. Vasseur is thought to have given the Scuderia chairman ‘another tale’, and potentially even blamed Hamilton and Leclerc for their misery.

Elkann believing Vasseur’s excuses to justify Ferrari’s most recent failures, as the American-born Italian has done previously, led to his ‘unprecedented attack’ on Hamilton and Leclerc. His message on Monday was also aimed mainly at Hamilton after his comments on Sunday.

John Elkann will not have liked Lewis Hamilton saying he is living a ‘nightmare’ at Ferrari

Elkann launched a shock attack on Hamilton and Leclerc while speaking at an event in Milan for the 2026 Winter Olympics. He suggested the pair should “focus on driving and talk less”, and added “we certainly need drivers who don’t think about themselves but about Ferrari”.

A phone call with Vasseur following the race in Brazil would have only partly fuelled Elkann’s outburst, however. Elkann’s “talk less” remark can also be directed at Hamilton admitting he is living a “nightmare” at Ferrari after the Sao Paulo GP, as his wait for a podium continued.

Hamilton is now 21 rounds into his Ferrari career after moving to Maranello for the 2025 F1 season. But the seven-time drivers’ champion has not finished higher than P4 in any Grand Prix for the Scuderia, with his F1 Sprint win in China this March still his only highlight so far.