Ferrari In 'Backstabbing' Meltdown As New Lewis Hamilton Dispute Revealed

Ferrari's 2025 season has taken a new turn for the worse amid chairman John Elkann criticising drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.

Elkann stated that both drivers 'need to focus on driving and talk less' after failing to finish the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos on Sunday.

The Scuderia are now in fourth place in the Constructors' Championship, 36 points behind second-placed Mercedes, with three Grand Prix weekends to go.

Ferrari have been dogged by issues throughout 2025, dating all the way back to the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Scuderia engineers were said to be 'surprised' by the amount of plank wear during the first practice sessions of the season, and were therefore forced to increase the ride height - and lose performance - to avoid a race disqualification for excessive wear.

Ironically, both Leclerc and Hamilton were disqualified from the subsequent Chinese Grand Prix for the same reason.

Throughout the season, both drivers have been urged to lift and coast before high-speed corners throughout races, in a further detriment to performance.

Endurance driver and F1 commentator Alex Brundle explained that the lift and coast instructions means they can run lower downforce on the rest of the circuits without causing further plank wear and risking disqualification.

But Ferrari haven't won a Grand Prix proper this season, with Hamilton's success in the China sprint race their only victory of 2025.

According to AutoRacer's Giuliano Duchessa, 'not all' of Ferrari's top engineers 'were happy with the words used, particularly by Hamilton, this season' in regards to car performance.

He adds that some Ferrari engineers are said to be 'allergic to changing their approach following the indications of those arriving from outside', like the situation that unfolded when Sebastian Vettel joined the team in 2015.

Duchessa claims that Elkann's comments towards his drivers 'produced a result that is difficult to understand and interpret', with some said to 'fundamentally believe they are directed much more toward Hamilton than Leclerc'.

While Hamilton has indeed made his feelings clear on several occasions, recently describing his first season at the team as a 'nightmare', Leclerc, too, noted after the Singapore Grand Prix that he was 'struggling massively with the car'.

He added: "I wish I could say that I'm positive for the rest of the season, I don't think there's anything in the car that proves to me that we are going to do a step forward."

Ferrari in 'constant turmoil' amid Hamilton and Leclerc criticism

The Daily Mail's Jonathan McEvoy, meanwhile, claims that Ferrari have a 'backstabbing addiction' that dates back to when current FIA chief Stefano Domenicali was replaced as team principal in April 2014.

He noted that Ferrari are 'like no team he [Hamilton] has experienced before', adding: "Regular changes of team principal are a token of the constant turmoil there."

It could be perhaps telling that Leclerc's Instagram post, which addressed the Brazilian Grand Prix, contained a photo of the Monegasque driver stood alongside current team principal Frederic Vasseur, who has come under pressure this season.

Image: Instagram/@charles_leclerc

Vasseur, who did sign a contract extension earlier this year, is also close with Hamilton from their days in GP2 and the Frenchman was reportedly a key factor behind the 40-year-old's decision to leave Mercedes and join Ferrari.

Leclerc wrote on Instagram: "A very difficult weekend in Sao Paulo. 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."