Jenson Button tells Ferrari president ‘lead by example’ after shock statement
Jenson Button suggests Ferrari president John Elkann should "lead by example"
Ferrari president John Elkann raised more than a few eyebrows with his surprisingly blunt attempt at motivating the Ferrari F1 team.
Speaking of only the engineers and mechanics delivering, with the rest of Ferrari F1 “not up to par”, Elkann also called out drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, telling them to “talk less”. Jenson Button, the 2009 World Champion, has earned plenty of support on social media after suggesting the Ferrari president “should lead by example”.
Jenson Button sends stone cold response to Ferrari president
It was in the aftermath of AF Corse, Ferrari’s factory sportscar squad, securing the World Endurance Hypercar title in Bahrain that Elkann made his comments which sent shockwaves around the motorsport world. Sources within Ferrari suggest they were meant as a motivational spur for the team.
This race also held very special significance for Button, the 2009 World Champion, as it marked his last as a professional racing driver.
“Brazil was a huge disappointment,” Elkann said at an event in Milan, with neither Hamilton nor Leclerc seeing the chequered flag in what has been a disappointing F1 2025 campaign for Ferrari.
“In Formula 1, we have mechanics who are always first in performing pit stops. The engineers work to improve the car.
“The rest is not up to par.
“We have drivers who need to focus on driving, talk less, and we have important races ahead of us, and it is not impossible to finish second.
“This is the most important message coming out of Bahrain: when Ferrari is a team, we win.
“Ferrari wins when it is united, as the WEC results have shown us. When everyone is together, great things can be achieved.”
Sky F1 shared the “focus on driving, talk less” snippet from Elkann’s comments via their Instagram account, which drew a cold response from Button, who serves as a Sky F1 pundit.
The Brit replied: “Maybe John should lead by example.”
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It is safe to say that Button’s to-the-point response went down very well with the majority of fans.
“Jenson you legend,” one fan responded.
“Grande Jenson, absolutely right,” another fan replied.
A fellow fan commented: “Exactly this… how unprofessional of him to come out and say this. Says it all about the culture in that team.”
“Elkann should keep quiet and focus on turning Ferrari into a winning outfit again,” another fan urges.
Ferrari remains in search of its first taste of title success since 2008, when the Constructors’ Championship last came to Maranello. Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 is the most recent Drivers’ Champion.
While F1 2025 will conclude with Ferrari’s title drought rolling on, there is certainly still something to play for, with P2 up for grabs. Ferrari fell to fourth behind Red Bull in the standings after Brazil.
Read next: Lewis Hamilton issues pointed statement following incendiary comments from Ferrari president