Ferrari should focus resources on car, not recruiting Hamilton - Briatore

Flavio Briatore believes Ferrari would be better served saving the money it would cost to sign Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes and spending it on improving their car to get the better of the Silver Arrows.

The end of 2019 has come with speculation regarding Hamilton's future potentially being aligned to Maranello after a number of meetings between the six-time world champion and Ferrari president John Elkann.

Hamilton has refused to commit his future to Mercedes, saying it will largely depend on whether Toto Wolff signs on at the Silver Arrows.

Wolff has been linked to the top job in F1, something Ferrari have threatened to veto, but former team owner Eddie Jordan has claimed Hamilton should look to take Wolff to Ferrari with him if he were to make the move.

Former Benetton and Renault team boss Briatore says any links between Wolff and Ferrari hold no water, but has also called on the Scuderia's top brass to throw their weight behind Charles Leclerc, recently signed to a five-year Ferrari deal, in a bid to end Mercedes' stranglehold on F1.

"Hamilton in Maranello in 2021? Between him and Charles Leclerc, I would keep Leclerc. And it also costs less," Briatore told Rai Gr Parlamento.

"Toto Wolff in Ferrari in 2021? He is a shareholder at Mercedes. It does not make sense to go to work as an employee of another team, then it would not be the solution to the problems.

"Ferrari needs a leader. What is important is the car.

"Renault, for example, gave [Daniel] Ricciardo a boat load of money, but it was better to invest it in the development of the car.

"Ferrari must work to have a car half a tenth from Mercedes, then the driver makes the difference."

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