Charles Leclerc praised the honesty of Ferrari chairman John Elkann, who had launched a stinging barb aimed at the Formula 1 team's drivers last week, and insisted that his comments were intended to be a positive message of encouragement.
In the wake of Ferrari's double-retirement in Sao Paulo, Elkann spoke to Sky Sports Italy and stated that "we have drivers who need to focus on driving and talk less" - contextualised by his comparison of the F1 team to Ferrari's championship success in the World Endurance Championship.
Ferrari is currently locked in a battle for second in the constructors' championship, although the non-score from the grand prix in Brazil has put the team down to fourth - four points behind third-placed Red Bull. The Italian squad is 36 points behind current incumbent Mercedes.
Leclerc had been collateral in a clash between Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Oscar Piastri and had been blameless for his retirement, but nonetheless was included in Elkann's criticism.
The Monegasque stated that Elkann had called him before his Sky appearance to inform him that he intended to send a "positive" message, and was pleased to have an honest appraisal - which he says is in short supply for a driver when they reach F1.
"John and I have known each other for many years, so we have a very good relationship and obviously we've been working together for many years," Leclerc said.
"We know each other and I know John is a very ambitious person and wants to push every people to the maximum in order to have the maximum results.
"He loves Ferrari, I love Ferrari, we all love Ferrari and we try to do the best in every situation. I didn't actually see the news. John called me before that, just like he does after every races to catch up, and to also tell me that the messages he wanted to send was a positive one in saying we need to do better and that is clear for everyone.
"So really, we are aligned and I'll do absolutely everything in order to bring back Ferrari to the top. This I've always said in the past and I've always tried my best. I'll try to do better. That really is the priority in the team and what we want to achieve.
"John has always been very honest with me. And I think that is very rare; I've seen that throughout my career, when you are in Formula 2, Formula 3, it's very easy to meet people that are honest with you.
"When you get to Formula 1 and your status changes a little bit, it's a lot more difficult to actually find people that are honest with you. John has always been extremely honest with me and when he thinks I've done something wrong or that anybody has done something wrong in the team, he will say it.
"Whichever way it's been expressed, I cannot really comment and it's not my job to comment. But the intent was positive and that's what really matters to me. So that's why I'm fine with that."
Leclerc added that it was important not to take Elkann's comments too literally, and that the underlying message was one to spur Ferrari on to improve - and that he, as a driver, had a part to play in that.
He explained that Ferrari was very much united in that regard, and reiterated that he did not take the Ferrari chairman's view as a negative appraisal of the team.
"You can always do more, you can always do better. And in everything I do, of course, I breathe Formula 1, I breathe Ferrari especially, and I've been a fan since forever and I always will be," Leclerc continued.
"You do your best, but that doesn't mean that you cannot do better. I always take criticism in a constructive way, so there's no hard feelings whatsoever.
"And again, the intentions of these words were positive and not negative and we'll just keep trying to do better.
"We are united. And this is a message that is very important. I do understand that there's a lot of fuss around the team at the moment, but the relationship that John and I have, and John and the team has, doesn't change at all.
"He's been very clear with what he said. As I said, he's always been very honest with us. When he says something, he means it. He spoke to all of us just like he does on a regular basis. It's very clear what he's intending to say. That's good for us."
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