Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari boss admits F1 failure and opens up on 'museum of mistakes'

John Elkann, Fred Vasseur, Ferrari, 2025 — Photo: © IMAGO

Scuderia Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari boss admits F1 failure

Ferrari had a dismal 2025 season

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Wednesday 25 March 2026 08:14 Updated: 08:59

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Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari F1 boss has issued an open letter to shareholders admitting that the team fell short in 2025.

Hamilton's first year at the Maranello-based outfit did not yield a single grand prix podium for the seven-time world champion, while both he and team-mate Charles Leclerc failed to secure a grand prix victory throughout the year.

It means that Ferrari have not won an F1 grand prix since the 2024 Mexican Grand Prix.

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Despite this, Fred Vasseur was handed a new contract to stay on as team principal, and the scuderia have made a good start to the 2026 season, making use of the regulation changes to claim two podiums already in 2026, including one for Hamilton.

But now, Vasseur's boss has put added pressure on the Frenchman and the whole team with a statement to Exor's shareholders. John Elkann is the CEO of Exor, the holding company that owns Ferrari, Juventus Football Club, Stellantis and many more big-name brands.

In Elkann's letter to shareholders - which is publicly available on Exor's website - he went through each of the company's brands and investments and issued an update on their performance.

"Formula 1, by contrast, fell short of ambitions," the Italian-American said. "But Ferrari has always understood that racing is as much about learning as winning.

"Ferrari’s founder Enzo Ferrari kept what he called a 'museum of mistakes', a cabinet of broken parts collected in pursuit of progress. That mindset remains essential today: accountability and the determination to return stronger.

"The year also underscored Ferrari’s commitment to the future through bold, long-horizon investments: the launch of the M-TECH Alfredo Ferrari educational hub in Maranello to train the next generation of innovators, the christening of the Hypersail project as the Prancing Horse adds the sea to the track and the unveiling of the revolutionary architecture behind the Ferrari Luce, the first full-electric Ferrari.

"For Exor, Ferrari exemplifies what long-term stewardship can achieve. Short-term market reactions will ebb and flow. What matters more is that the company continues to invest in talent and technology, while preserving the rare balance between growth and uniqueness that has defined its success for generations."

Ferrari looking to overcome Mercedes

Ferrari have not claimed a world championship title of any kind since the 2008 season, and their last drivers' champion was Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.

Considering the plethora of world champions and talented young drivers that they've had at their team since then, that is a dismal drought.

Vasseur, Elkann and the two drivers at the team in Hamilton and Leclerc will be ultimately judged on whether they can help return the most successful outfit in F1 history to championship-winning ways.

They look to be close to a championship challenge this year, with only one team ahead of them consistently on the timing screens so far in 2026.

However, that Mercedes team are such a big gap ahead of Ferrari and the rest of their competitors that it's going to be hard to push for a constructors' or drivers' championship this year.

Ferrari's goal for 2026 will be to try and begin reeling Mercedes in, picking up a few race victories along the way, before mounting a real challenge in the years to come for that illusive title.

F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Charles Leclerc Fred Vasseur John Elkann