Jenson Button urges John Elkann to talk to Ferrari drivers directly after criticism

2009 F1 world champion Jenson Button believes Ferrari chairman John Elkann should have spoken to his drivers directly, rather than publicly criticising them.

After a disappointing Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Elkann caused a stir by telling Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton to “focus on driving” and “talk less.”

His comments came after a double DNF for Ferrari, as the team slipped to fourth in the constructors’ championship.

Elkann has been criticised by pundits and fans, with many noting that Ferrari’s struggles are not down to the drivers.

Again, Ferrari have failed to provide Leclerc with a championship-contending car. He is on course for his second winless campaign in three years.

Hamilton has yet to finish on the podium during his first season with Ferrari.

Speaking on the latest episode of the Sky F1 podcast, Button said Elkann should have addressed Leclerc and Hamilton privately if he wanted them to be less vocal with their criticism.

“Ferrari have always had a lot of pressure on them to perform. Every F1 team does, but especially Ferrari. You’ve got the whole of Italy wanting Ferrari to win races,” Button said.

“There’s so much outside pressure and internally for the whole team. And that’s for everyone in that team. So I get it, there’s a lot of pressure.

“But, John only has two cars in the red garage. It’s very easy to find your racing driver and go and talk to him and say, ‘you know what? That’s not cool. That’s not the way we do business. That’s not the way we work as a team. These are the guidelines’ or ‘let’s talk about why you need to do that. Why do you feel the need to be sending so-and-so this and that?’

“I get it. You’re trying to help. But this is how it’s always been at Ferrari. Communication is the best thing in anything, but especially in a team when you have thousands of people working to develop a car and you’ve got two drivers, two of the best in the world, just go and have a chat. They have a lot of experience as well of racing for the best teams in the sport.”

“Everyone wants to see” Hamilton succeed

Hamilton has gone nearly a year without a podium finish. 

His last rostrum appearance was at the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, finishing second behind Mercedes teammate George Russell.

Assessing Hamilton’s performances this year, Button highlighted the seven-time world champion’s notable improvement in recent rounds, while stressing the need to cut out the “little mistakes” to secure that elusive podium.

“It’s a shame to see him not performing as well as we expect. The first part of the year, it took him longer to get to grips with the car,” Button added.

“From what I see, it’s the issue at the moment. These cars are very unique in the way that you drive them. And every one is different, so it takes time.

“Every driver struggles when they jump into a new team. But, the last few races, the performance has been there. There’ve been a few little things that haven’t gone his way, but the performance compared to Charles has pretty much been there in qualifying and the race.

“They have just got to fine-tune it a little bit to avoid the little mistakes in qualifying. I think they are on for a podium and I think everyone wants to see it.

“I think it’s such an important thing for the sport to see Ferrari on the podium, to see Lewis on the podium. And it will be great for Ferrari as well if they can fight for a victory at the end of the season.”