John Elkann should be blaming one key Ferrari figure for his team’s failings in 2025, not Lewis Hamilton

Follow us on Google Discover

Tensions at Ferrari keep on boiling in 2025, with the latest episode seeing chairman John Elkann publicly criticise his drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.

Ferrari are winless in 2025, with Leclerc scoring all seven of the team’s podiums. So much was expected of the team after narrowly losing to McLaren in 2024 and signing Hamilton from Mercedes, but it has turned out to be a disastrous season.

The Brazilian Grand Prix summed up the Maranello outfit’s year as they suffered their second double DNF of the season. Leclerc was wiped out by Kimi Antonelli after he collided with Oscar Piastri, while Hamilton retired with damage sustained in a coming together with Franco Colapinto.

The duo were understandably despondent after the race, with Hamilton saying that he has been in a ‘nightmare’ for some time. In response, Ferrari boss Elkann hit back at his drivers at an Italian Olympic Committee ahead of the 2026 Winter Games in Milan-Cortina.

He claimed his drivers need to ‘focus more and talk less’, that the car has ‘undoubtedly improved’, and the rest of the team, bar the engineers, is ‘not up to standard’. This makes for sensational reading, as Elkann has clearly missed the point as to who he should be blaming.

John Elkann needs to blame Fred Vasseur for Ferrari’s failings in 2025, not Lewis Hamilton

In simple terms, it is hard to blame Hamilton and Leclerc for Ferrari’s failings. While it can be argued that their performance levels have not been up to scratch at times in 2025, especially with Hamilton, the problems lie deeper within the team – more specifically, with the team principal.

Ride height problems have plagued the SF-25 this season, with Ferrari coming up with few answers to solve them. Team principal Fred Vasseur opted to introduce a new rear suspension upgrade, which went against his drivers’ wishes.

Hamilton and Leclerc pushed for aerodynamic upgrades to fix the ride height issues, but Vasseur insisted that the rear suspension was the way to go. Ferrari’s results since its introduction at Spa immediately disprove Elkann’s comments that the car has ‘undoubtedly improved’.

While Leclerc did grab a pole position in Hungary, since the rear suspension upgrade in Spa, Leclerc has grabbed three podiums compared to four without it. Furthermore, the Monegasque driver has only been in the top five one other time, and for Hamilton, it is even worse.

He has finished in the top five just once since the upgrade and has failed to score points at all three times. Ultimately, Ferrari staff were disappointed in Vasseur over the rear suspension, which caused a divide within the team.

The friction at Maranello, plus Vasseur’s unwillingness to listen to his drivers’ feedback and demands, is exactly why the blame should lie with the Frenchman and not Hamilton. His technical approach has worsened the car’s performance and damaged relationships with the team.

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside F1 from net worth to family

Loic Serra and Matteo Togninalli also have to take responsibility for Ferrari’s 2025 shortcomings

Elkann showed full confidence in Vasseur by offering him a new contract back in July. However, his decision-making in 2025 needs to be called into question by the Ferrari boss, as well as other key figures within the team.

Some Ferrari staff are unconvinced by technical director Loic Serra, and based on this season, they have every reason to be. He has overseen the development of the car, which has not improved as the year has progressed – he must take some responsibility.

Furthermore, trackside engineer Matteo Togninalli has been under fire in 2025 for the team’s strategic execution. They have made countless operational errors this season, evidenced last weekend in Sao Paulo when fans questioned Ferrari’s tyre allocation for Hamilton after his Q2 elimination.

Togninalli’s ‘terrible temper’ has caused clashes at Ferrari, with him currently in ‘internal conflict’ with Vasseur, further highlighting the problems within the team. The issues lie far deeper than Leclerc and Hamilton, who have had a lot against them in 2025.