Flavio Briatore says Ferrari would be better off focusing on improving car development in the future and forget trying to lure six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton to Maranello.
Ferrari top brass met with Hamilton in the recent past, and although chief executive Louis Camilleri downplayed the talks, many believe the Scuderia could make a move for the Mercedes driver whose contract runs out at the end of this year.
And Ferrari is also a potential destination for Silver Arrows team boss Toto Wolff, although the Austrian has dismissed a transfer to the other camp.
But Briatore believes Ferrari mustn't get its priorities wrong.
"Hamilton in Maranello in 2021? Between him and Charles Leclerc, I would keep Leclerc and it also costs less," the flamboyant former Renault team boss told Italian broadcaster RAI.
"Toto Wolff at Ferrari in 2021? He is a shareholder at Mercedes. It does not make sense to go to work as an employee of another team, then it would not be the solution to the problems.
"Ferrari needs a leader. What is important is the car."
Briatore pointed to Renault as a typical case of throwing big bucks at a driver, for little reward.
"Renault, for example, gave Ricciardo a boatload of money, but it was better to invest it in the development of the car," he added.
"Ferrari must work to have a car half a tenth from Mercedes, then the driver makes the difference."
Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
Honda entered Formula 1’s new era believing it had built the foundations of a competitive…
Charles Leclerc’s early verdict on Madrid’s brand-new Madring suggests the rest of the F1 grid…
Somewhere in the Czech Republic last weekend, while the F1 paddock was busy elsewhere doing…
Jenson Button took the first win of his Formula 1 career on this day in…
George Russell’s battle against Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes is already a daunting challenge on pure…
Williams’ 2026 season was supposed to be the next step in a carefully plotted rebuild.…