Lewis Hamilton said he will not give up, while Charles Leclerc urged “unity”, as Ferrari’s drivers issued rallying calls ahead of the decisive end to the 2025 season.
Their posts on Monday evening came hours after Ferrari chairman John Elkann — the marque’s ultimate boss — said the drivers should “focus on driving and talk less” to help the team finish the season strongly, after Ferrari slipped from second to fourth in the Constructors’ Championship following the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Elkann made the remarks during an interview in which he praised the team’s mechanics and engineers and pointed to Ferrari’s World Endurance Championship success in Bahrain last Saturday, saying the achievement proved “when Ferrari is united, you get results”.
Leclerc was the first to post, echoing Elkann’s call for unity. “A very difficult weekend in Sao Paulo,” he wrote on X. “Disappointing to come back home with nearly no points at all for the team in what is a critical moment of the season to fight for the second place in the constructors’ championship. It’s uphill from now and it’s clear that only unity can help us turn that situation around in the last three races. We’ll give it all, as always.”
Hamilton, who had described his season at Ferrari as a “nightmare” after retiring from Sunday’s race, wrote on Instagram: “In the end, it wasn’t the race we wanted. It’s gutting, especially after some good progress, but we will move on. I back my team. I back myself. I will not give up. Not now, not then, not ever.”
Ferrari recorded their second double DNF of the season at Interlagos when Leclerc and Hamilton each suffered damage in separate early incidents. Leclerc was eliminated on lap six after contact between Oscar Piastri and Kimi Antonelli sent Antonelli’s Mercedes into his Ferrari while he was running third. Hamilton later retired after damage sustained when he tagged the back of Franco Colapinto’s Alpine on the first lap, an incident that led to an early pit stop and a penalty.
The zero-score in Brazil left Ferrari 36 points behind Mercedes and four behind Red Bull in the battle for second in the teams’ standings, with three race weekends remaining.
Historically consistent — Ferrari have finished outside the top three in the standings just three times (2020, 2014, 2009) in the last 31 seasons — the team now also faces the risk of its first winless year since 2021, with only Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi to come. Leclerc has finished runner-up twice across seven podium visits this season.
Formula 1’s title fight continues with the Las Vegas Grand Prix on November 21-23, live on Sky Sports F1.
