Ferrari Parts Ways with Hamilton's Race Engineer Ahead of 2026 Reset

Ferrari is shaking up Lewis Hamilton’s garage after just one season, confirming that Riccardo Adami will no longer serve as the seven-time champion's race engineer. Instead, the veteran engineer is transitioning to a strategic role at the Ferrari Driver Academy (FDA) to help develop the team's future talent, leaving the coveted spot on Hamilton's pit wall open for a new appointment.

Why it matters:

As Ferrari prepares for the massive 2026 regulatory overhaul, driver-engineer chemistry is non-negotiable for a title challenge. The 2025 season was marked by public friction over the radio, and with the stakes rising for the new ruleset, Maranello is ensuring Hamilton has the perfect support system to extract maximum performance from the next generation of machinery.

The details:

• Strategic Shift: Adami is not leaving the team. He has been appointed as the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy and Test Previous Cars Manager, where his extensive trackside experience will be used to nurture young drivers and strengthen the team's performance culture.
• Radio Tension: Despite an early sprint victory in China, the Hamilton-Adami partnership was frequently scrutinized. Tense radio exchanges—including sarcastic "tea break" comments in Miami and blunt instructions to "leave me to it"—fueled rumors of a strained working relationship.
• The "Bono" Factor: Insiders noted a lack of the seamless "telepathy" Hamilton famously shared with Peter Bonnington at Mercedes. While both Hamilton and Track Engineering chief Matteo Togninalli publicly defended the relationship, the team has decided to hit the reset button to find a better fit.
• The Search: Ferrari confirmed that the appointment of a new race engineer for car #44 will be announced "in due course," sparking speculation over whether the team will promote from within or hire externally.

What's next:

The hunt is on for Hamilton's new "Bono." As Ferrari pivots its full focus toward the 2026 car, the team will be looking for an engineer who can not only manage the immense technical demands of the new regulations but also forge the deep psychological bond required to guide a seven-time world champion to a potential eighth title.