“It’s a nightmare,” said Hamilton who damaged his underfloor and suspension when he ran into the back of Franco Colapinto’s Alpine at the end of the opening lap. “I’ve been living it for a while. The flip between the dream of driving for this amazing team and then the nightmare of the results that we’ve had. We are just really having to fight through those hardships at the moment.
“This weekend has been disastrous and disappointing for everyone. I am trying to keep my head above water and remain positive.”
Hamilton’s words, and perhaps also Leclerc’s emotional reaction after exiting the car, appeared to draw a rebuke from Elkann.
Speaking at an event for Milano Cortina 2026, the next Winter Olympics, Elkann called Brazil a “big disappointment”. The 49-year-old then raised eyebrows when he appeared to blame the drivers for a lack of team unity.
“If we look at the Formula One championship we can say that on one hand we have our mechanics, who are basically winning the championship with their performance and everything that has been done on the pit stops,” Elkann said. “If we look at our engineers, there’s no doubt that the car has improved. If we look at the rest, it is not up to par.
“And surely we have drivers for whom it is important that they focus on driving and talk less, because we still have important races ahead of us and getting second place is not impossible.”
Ferrari did have some success last weekend, their sports car operation, run by AF Corse, winning the World Endurance Championship after also triumphing in the Le Mans 24 Hours earlier this season.
