Charles Leclerc has responded to the comments that Ferrari President John Elkann made ahead of the F1 Las Vegas GP.
After a dissapointing São Paulo GP, Elkann threw harsh criticism at Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, stating that they should “focus on driving and talk less.”
Charles Leclerc defends Elkann’s comments
The Sãu Paulo GP didn’t go the way Ferrari wanted, with both drivers suffering a DNF and the team dropping to P4 in the constructors championship, 4 points behind Red Bull and 36 points behind Mercedes.
This result fuled Elkann’s statement, saying that the result was “a big dissapointment.”
Speaking in a print media session at the F1 Las Vegas GP, Leclerc defended Elkann’s comments, suggesting that Elkann is an “ambitious person and wants to push everybody to the maximum.”
“Yeah, I mean, obviously, I mean, john and I know each other since many, many years. So, we have a very good relationship and obviously we’ve been working together for many years.
“So, we know each other. I know John is a very ambitious person and wants to push everybody to the maximum in order to have the maximum results.
“He loves Ferrari, I love Ferrari, and we try to do the best in every situation.
“I didn’t actually see the news. John called me before that, just like he does after every race, to catch up and to also tell me that the message he wanted to send was a positive one in saying, yeah, we need to do better. And that is clear for everyone.
“So really, we are aligned. And I’ll do absolutely everything in order to bring back Ferrari to the top. This I’ve always said in the past.
“I’ve always tried my best. I’ll try to do better. But yeah, and that really is the priority in the team and what we want to achieve.”
“John has always been extremely honest with me”
The São Paulo GP earned Ferrari their second dobule DNF of the season, the first being at the Dutch GP. Ferrari have also suffered a double DSQ this season at the Chinese GP after Leclerc’s car was 1kg underweight and Hamilton suffered excessive skid-block-wear.
Ahead of the Las Vegas GP, the Monegasque suggested that while Elkann’s comments seemed harsh, it was a “positive message.” He also stated that he is grateful to have someone that is open and honest with him at this stage of his career.
“John has always been very honest with me. And I think that is very rare. I’ve seen that throughout my career.
“When you’re in Formula 2, Formula 3, it’s very easy to meet actually people that are honest with you. When you get to Formula 1 and your status change a little bit it’s a lot more difficult to find people that are honest with you. John has always been extremely honest with me.
“When he thinks I’ve done something wrong or that anybody has done something wrong in the team, he will say it. When he called me, he told me the intentions of his words. And that was very clear.
“It was a positive message, trying to be positive. Then whichever way it’s been expressed, I cannot really comment. And it’s not my job to comment.
“But the intent was positive and that’s what really matters to me. So that’s why I’m fine with that.
“Whatever there is around the team, I cannot control. So I don’t spend too much energy on that.”
Leclerc was not at fault for his DNF at the F1 São Paulo GP and was merely a passenger collected in a collision between Piastri and Antonelli during a turn 1 incident.
The 28-year-old was asked whether Elkanns comments were specific to the result in Brazil and if that makes the statement more hurtful.
“It was definitely not specific to that race. But it was more a broader view of the situation and the season. And just trying to, again, push us to do better. Which is what we try to do.”
Leclerc on how he lives and breathes Formula 1 and Ferrari
John Elkann stated that “when Ferrari is united, when everyone works together, we can achieve truly great things.” During the print media session ahead of the F1 Las Vegas GP, Leclerc was asked if it was possible for him to focus any more than he does.
“You can always do more, you can always do better.
“In everything I do of course. I breathe Formula 1. I breathe Ferrari especially. I’ve been a fan since forever, and I always will be. You do your best. But that doesn’t mean that you cannot do better.
“So, yeah. I always take critics in a constructive way. There are no hard feelings whatsoever. And again, the intentions of these words were positive and not negative, and we’ll just keep trying to do better.”
Ferrari are still in the running for P2 in the Constructors Championship with 3 races left in the 2025 Formula 1 season. Charles Leclerc qualified P3 for the Sãu Paulo GP, showing the potential that the SF-25 has over 1 lap. However, throughout the season, the drivers have been asked to Lift and Coast during the race, sacrificing their race pace.
