'Talk less': Stunning post-script to Hamilton, Leclerc disasters

Ferrari chairman John Elkann told Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc on Monday to "talk less" and concentrate more on driving after a dire weekend for the Italian Formula 1 team in Brazil.

Ferrari suffered a double retirement in Sao Paulo, their third race of the season without either driver in the points.

Also at the weekend in Bahrain, Ferrari won the World Endurance Championships for drivers and teams.

READ MORE: Heavyweight in 'awful trouble' as World Cup contenders shift

READ MORE: Burger chain's subtle Piastri change exposes awful dip

READ MORE: Ashes hopefuls fail as Starc sends England ominous warning

Speaking after an Olympic sponsorship event in Rome on Monday, Elkann compared that emotional triumph by the Le Mans 24 Hours winners to the disappointment of Brazil, and appeared to question the F1 team's unity.

He told reporters the mechanics and engineers were performing their jobs well and had improved the car but, in a pointed message aimed at Leclerc and Hamilton, said :"If we look at the rest, it is not up to scratch".

"And we definitely have drivers who need to focus on driving and talk less, because we still have important races ahead of us and getting second place (in the championship) is not impossible.

"In Bahrain we won the WEC title; when Ferrari is united we get the results."

Ferrari, close runners-up to McLaren last season, have slipped to fourth in the constructors' standings, behind McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull, and both drivers have sounded frustrated.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton, who joined from Mercedes in January, offered a grim assessment of his experience at Ferrari after the weekend's race at Interlagos.

"This is a nightmare, and I have been living it for a while," Hamilton told Sky Sports.

"The flip between the dream of driving for this amazing team and the nightmare of the results we have had, the ups and downs, it's challenging."

The Briton has yet to stand on the podium in 21 races, although he did win a sprint in China in March.

Hamilton retired from the weekend's race just after the halfway mark after two opening-lap collisions left him with a severely damaged car. He was handed a five-second penalty for one of them, which he served.