Internal friction at Ferrari: Lewis Hamilton’s demands spark tension with Maranello team engineers. The relationship between Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari is under strain as internal discontent rises among engineers.

From dream to nightmare: the collaboration between Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari may already be at a breaking point, amid discontent among engineers and the reaction of John Elkann. The seven-time world champion demands changes in methods and procedures, but in Maranello there are still those who firmly oppose him.

After numerous criticisms of the team and car by Lewis Hamilton, albeit not always explicitly, Ferrari’s President seems to have chosen which side to take. A double retirement is never easy to accept, especially at such a delicate point in the season. Yet, after long and interminable silences, John Elkann’s reaction the day after Interlagos struck like a bolt from the blue.

Moreover, the anger of Ferrari’s President is not even a generalized one. There is no vague yet firm insistence on results for the team. Rather, the criticism has a very precise target.

By calling on the drivers to talk less and deliver more, the Exor CEO speaks directly to Lewis Hamilton. After all, what fault could Charles Leclerc possibly have, having once again exceeded weekend expectations and fallen prey, innocently, to a pile-up at Turn 1? The British driver, by contrast, failed to shine in both qualifying sessions and his collision with Franco Colapinto, controversial though it may be, is hardly worthy of a seven-time world champion.

Hamilton and Ferrari on the rocks: unrest in Maranello

The words of John Elkann therefore carry a precise and direct message aimed at only one of the two drivers. But why silence Lewis Hamilton so explicitly, at the height of such a troubled season? The answer may lie in the corridors of the Sporting Management, where a certain discontent towards the “new arrival” is creeping in.

As Giuliano Duchessa points out in his analysis on AutoRacer.it, some of the Englishman’s comments have stirred not a little unease among some of the prominent figures in Ferrari’s technical departments. The ex-Mercedes driver would like to bring some of the “Made in Brackley” culture to his new team, altering procedures and methodologies long-established in Ferrari’s offices.

The seven-time world champion does not want to become yet another passive victim of the Ferrari system – following, so to speak, the failures of Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel – and, in his view, to return to winning requires the courage to change. Internal files, media statements, attitudes: a combination of factors that, when not backed by positive results, may have irritated the management.

Elkann sides with Ferrari’s engineers

Praising the work of mechanics and engineers, John Elkann chooses which side to take in this dispute. The Ferrari President once again defends the operation of Frédéric Vasseur and his team, citing the recent improvements of the SF-25. Performances that certainly arrived thanks to the better execution demanded by the team principal, but which must not obscure a project that remains somewhat disappointing.

Unity and shared purpose are being sought at a critical moment for the future of the team. The message between the lines appears to aim to bring the drivers (or at least one of them) back down to earth, placing everyone on the same page so they can move forward together toward the 2026 technical revolution. Less talk, more results: the formula for a Ferrari that can follow in the footsteps of its winning sister in the WEC.