When Winning Teams Lose: A Ferrari Leadership Lesson
John Elkann, Chairman of Ferrari, recently made waves with his comments about the F1 team’s performance. He opened with praise for the mechanics (“winning the championship with their pit stop performances”) and engineers (“the car has undoubtedly improved”).
Then came the sharp turn: “We have drivers who need to focus more and talk less.”
That single line reveals everything wrong with Ferrari’s leadership culture. It is a masterclass in what not to do.
The Pattern Is Clear
Ferrari has one of the largest budgets in F1, world-class facilities in Maranello, and a driver lineup featuring Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. Yet the team hasn’t won a Constructors’ Championship since 2008 or a Drivers’ Championship since 2007.
Nearly two decades of underperformance with enormous resources is not a driver problem.
It is a leadership and culture problem.
What Ferrari Gets Wrong
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Blame flows downward
Praising the mechanics while publicly criticizing the drivers deflects accountability from leadership. -
Image over improvement
Telling drivers to “talk less” protects the brand instead of inviting real problem-solving. -
Silencing feedback
When leaders discourage dialogue, issues do not disappear, they deepen. -
Politics above performance
Internal positioning becomes more important than winning.
What Real Leadership Looks Like
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Own the failures
Accountability starts at the top. -
Welcome hard truths
Psychological safety fuels stronger decisions. -
Progress over perfection
You cannot fix what you refuse to face. -
Accountability flows upward
Celebrate your team’s wins. Own the losses yourself.
Beyond Ferrari: Lessons for Engineering Teams
In engineering organizations, the temptation is similar. When outcomes fall short, it is easy to point at execution when the real challenges often sit in strategy, culture, or leadership choices.
Sustainable success comes from self-awareness, honest reflection, and leaders willing to look in the mirror first.
I’m fortunate to work with colleagues and leaders who strive to build exactly that kind of environment. It makes all the difference.
Final Thoughts
Ferrari has the talent and the resources. What it needs is leadership that empowers instead of silencing, learns instead of deflecting, and builds culture instead of guarding image.
Teams win championships, in F1 and in technology, when leadership creates an environment of trust, accountability, and continuous learning.
What leadership anti-patterns have you seen hold teams back from their potential?
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