Martin Brundle shares what ‘surprised’ him about Ferrari changing Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer

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Ferrari announced that Lewis Hamilton would have a new race engineer for the upcoming Formula 1 season last week, following a debut year with the Scuderia marred by communication issues.

One of the most important members of an F1 driver’s trackside team is their race engineer. Without a clear channel of communication, it’s close to impossible to be able to pull off a competitive strategy.

For Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari, it was the biggest gripe of his maiden season at Maranello.

The lack of chemistry between Hamilton and Riccardo Adami was evident with every exchange that they had over the team radio, and the Scuderia simply had to make a change.

• READ MORE: One Lewis Hamilton radio message confirmed that Ferrari simply had to replace Riccardo Adami

Martin Brundle was ‘surprised’ that Ferrari didn’t change Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer sooner

During an interview with Sky Sports F1 on the red carpet of the 2026 Autosport Awards, former driver turned pundit Martin Brundle offered his thoughts on the latest personnel changes at Maranello.

He said, “I’m surprised it probably didn’t happen a bit earlier, really, judging by all the things that were going on last year.

“Something I said on Sky F1 is that Lewis needs to go there with a team so that at least they understand ‘Lewis speak’ when he’s inside the car, what it all means, and to interpret what Lewis really needs behind the wheel.

“I think he needed some help to really flourish there quickly. Let’s see who turns up as his engineer now.

“Just listening to the radio and watching the performance, although they obviously put a varnish on it through last season, something needed to change.”

While the Scuderia are yet to confirm who Hamilton’s right-hand man this season will be, it is understood that Ferrari have ‘no chance’ of signing Peter Bonnington, the Briton’s former race engineer at Mercedes.

• READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton’s past comments about Luca Diella make him obvious choice to replace Riccardo Adami

A year since this iconic shot ⏳ Be honest — one word for Hamilton’s Ferrari era so far? 👀

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Jackie Stewart also shared his thoughts on Lewis Hamilton’s future in F1

Three-time F1 world champion Jackie Stewart was also in attendance at the awards ceremony, and he was asked for his opinion on what the future holds for the 41-year-old.

Stewart told Sky Sports F1, “He’s one of the greatest drivers of all time, with a tremendous record in Formula 1. The season that he’s had must have been really difficult for him, and he’s dealt with it quite well.

“I don’t know how long his contract is. He’ll make up his own mind whether he wants to retire. We all have to retire at a certain time.

“I was lucky enough to think as early as April that I was going to retire at the end of the season. And that was the right thing for me to do.

“So I think Lewis will decide when it’s right for him to resign from the sport. I think he’ll stay in the sport in some form or another. I hope he does. So let’s wait and see.”