Ferrari Chairman John Elkann says the company’s formula Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc “must focus on driving and not talking too much”.
Elkann’s comments come on the back of a Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend where Ferrari suffered a double retirement and Hamilton described his maiden as a “nightmare”.
Ferrari dropped to fourth in the championship as a result of the race. They are 36 points behind Mercedes and four points behind Red Bull with three grands prix and one sprint to go.
Elkann said at an Olympics Sponsorship event in Rome on Monday that the team’s mechanics and engineers are improving, but “if we look at the rest, it’s not over”.
He added: “And we are sure that there are drivers who need to focus on driving and we don’t need too much because we have impossible races ahead of us and taking second place is not impossible.
“In Bahrain, we won the world championship title. When Ferrari comes together, we get results.”
Elkann’s comments reflect the frustration and disappointment of Ferrari, which came close to becoming champions of the championships last year but failed to win a grand prix this season.
But it is said that they are meant to be taken in an important way as a spur to improve.
McLaren, who beat Ferrari by just 14 points last year, won the title with six races remaining this season.
The championship of the competitions determines the prize money of the teams and each position obtained at the top is worth about $10m (£7.6m) above the place at the bottom.
Hamilton won the Sprint Race in China in the second race of the season but has yet to stand on a grand prix podium.
Leclerc, who qualified third in Sao Paulo at the weekend but was removed from the race in a collision with Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, with seven podelli, with a best result of second in Monaco and Mexico.