John Elkann missed 'easy' solution to fix Lewis Hamilton fallout

F1 champion Jenson Button has insisted that Ferrari chairman John Elkann should have simply talked to Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc instead of talking to the media.

Elkann caused a stir last week when he, in essence, told Hamilton and Leclerc to talk less and focus on driving.

The comments caught many off guard at a time when Ferrari needed to be more united than ever.

Hamilton and Leclerc both took to social media in the wake of Elkann's comments to reaffirm their commitment to the team.

But now Button, 2009 champion and a former team-mate of Hamilton, has said that the Ferrari boss got things all wrong.

"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 told Sky’s The F1 Show.

"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."

Hamilton ready to close book on Ferrari struggles

Even the biggest cynics did not predict Hamilton's first season at Ferrari to go this badly.

There was always going to be a period of adaptation but the seven-time world champion has looked out of sorts for the best part of a year now behind the wheel of his SF-25.

The good news for Hamilton is that there are just three races left of this year's campaign before attentions turn to 2026.

With the overhaul of F1 regulations it is no doubt that the 40-year-old had next year on his mind when he made the decision to leave Mercedes.

It is quite simply a case of 'now or never' if Hamilton is to try and win his elusive eighth world title, and despite all the negativity that has surrounded him this year, 2026 presents him with a clean slate.

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