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

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Ferrari have confirmed that Lewis Hamilton will receive a new race engineer ahead of the 2026 F1 season following his spate of tense radio exchanges with Riccardo Adami.

Hamilton joined Ferrari ahead of the 2025 season and he inherited Adami as the voice in his ear over their radio. Adami had worked with Hamilton’s predecessor, Carlos Sainz, as well as Sebastian Vettel in the past. But the Italian and the Briton struggled to be on the same page.

The Briton built a very close bond with Peter Bonnington during his time at Mercedes from 2013 to 2024. But ‘Bono’ stayed at the Silver Arrows to work with Andrea Kimi Antonelli in his rookie F1 season in 2025, as well as becoming Mercedes’ new head of race engineering.

Adami joined Ferrari in 2015 when Vettel arrived from Red Bull to replace Fernando Alonso, and together the German fought Hamilton with Mercedes for the F1 drivers’ championship in 2017 and 2018. Adami worked with Sainz throughout his stint at Ferrari from 2021 to 2024.

Ferrari announce they will replace Riccardo Adami as Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer

Ferrari have now announced that they will offer Hamilton a new race engineer in 2026, with Adami taken out of their F1 project. Adami will now work as the new manager of the Ferrari Driver Academy and lead their Testing of Previous Car (TPC) programme, in a surprise move.

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton’s seven best Mercedes drives before joining Ferrari in 2025

The Scuderia are yet to confirm who will replace Adami as Hamilton’s race engineer, but the new voice in the Briton’s ear is due to be announced soon. Ferrari are set to unveil their car for the 2026 F1 season on January 23, along with holding a shakedown for SF-26 at Fiorano.

A statement released on Friday stated: “Scuderia Ferrari HP announce that Riccardo Adami has moved to a new role within the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy, as Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy and Test Previous Cars Manager, where his extensive trackside experience and Formula 1 expertise contribute to the development of future talent and to strengthening performance culture across the programme.

“Scuderia Ferrari HP would like to thank Riccardo for his commitment and contribution to his trackside role and wishes him every success in his new position. The appointment of the new race engineer for car #44 will be announced in due course.”

Why have Ferrari replaced Riccardo Adami as Lewis Hamilton’s F1 race engineer?

Team principal Fred Vasseur confirmed following the end of the 2025 F1 season that Ferrari would review whether or not to leave Adami as Hamilton’s race engineer. Hamilton had the worst season of his 19-year F1 career after joining Ferrari, and he often clashed with Adami.

Hamilton failed to score a single Grand Prix podium in a season for the first time in 2025, as he also scored 156 points for sixth place in the drivers’ standings. The 41-year-old had never scored fewer points in a season since F1 introduced its current scoring system back in 2010.

Tensions rose between Hamilton and Adami at an early stage, and they remained all year in 2025. Hamilton accused Adami of having “a tea break” in Miami when Ferrari dithered over issuing team orders and he asked, “You want me to let him past, as well?”, relating to Sainz.

Another notable flashpoint in 2025 arose when Adami’s mixed messages drew Hamilton a grid penalty in Monaco for impeding Red Bull ace Max Verstappen. Adami initially said the Dutchman was on a cooldown lap, but he was on an attack lap and Hamilton blocked him.

So, Ferrari and Hamilton have agreed to replace Adami, as the relationship between drivers and their engineers will be even more important in 2026 with F1’s new regulations. Drivers will rely on their engineers’ help managing their power with the increased electrical output.