Ferrari make decision on Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer after radio tension with Riccardo Adami.

Ferrari make decision on Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer after radio tension with Riccardo Adami.

 

 

 

Ferrari has confirmed a significant change to Lewis Hamilton’s technical crew ahead of the 2026 Formula One season, announcing that Riccardo Adami — the seven‑time world champion’s race engineer during his challenging first year at the Scuderia — will be reassigned to a new role within the team. As a result, Hamilton will be paired with a new race engineer when the season begins in March.

The decision comes after a turbulent 2025 campaign in which Hamilton struggled to deliver the results expected of a driver of his calibre. It marked the first time in nearly two decades that he finished a season without a single podium finish and his worst championship placement in Formula 1. Ferrari itself endured a difficult year, ultimately finishing fourth in the constructors’ standings amid broader performance woes with the SF‑25 chassis.

While Ferrari and Hamilton both dismissed rumours of a breakdown in their working relationship with Adami — Hamilton even publicly stated that speculation was “just noise” and insisted they had a positive partnership — the broader narrative throughout the season was otherwise. Adami’s radio communications with Hamilton were frequently highlighted by commentators and picked up on global broadcasts. Some exchanges, stretching back to early rounds like the Australian Grand Prix, were marked by terse or awkward back‑and‑forths between driver and engineer that fuelled speculation about mismatched communication styles.

One particularly notable incident occurred during the Monaco Grand Prix, when Hamilton asked Adami over team radio, “Are you upset with me or something?” following a tense moment late in the race — a question that went unanswered on the broadcast. Later, Hamilton publicly downplayed the significance, attributing any miscommunication to technical radio issues rather than personal tension.

Nevertheless, those exchanges — plus a series of other friction‑sounding messages that made headlines throughout 2025 — kept the subject in the F1 headlines all season. Pundits, former drivers, and media outlets repeatedly debated whether the communication dynamic was affecting Hamilton’s performance, and some even publicly urged Ferrari to consider appointing a different engineer.

Ferrari’s official announcement frames Adami’s move in positive terms: he will become Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy and Test Previous Cars Manager, a role aimed at developing young talent and applying his extensive trackside experience to the team’s broader technical programme. Ferrari also thanked him for his contributions and said the new race engineer for Hamilton’s #44 car will be named “in due course.”

The decision marks the end of a high‑profile partnership that, in many respects, never seemed to reach its potential. Hamilton’s longstanding success with previous race engineers — particularly Mercedes’ Peter Bonnington — set a high bar, and adapting to Ferrari’s internal culture and operational methods is widely believed to have been a contributing factor to the communication challenges.

As Ferrari now turns its attention to the 2026 regulations and a revamped car launch, the team will be hoping that fresh engineering support for Hamilton — combined with improved performance from Maranello’s design team — can return the legendary driver to regular podium contention.