Lewis Hamilton is getting a new race engineer. The seven-time world champion worked with Riccardo Adami during his first season at Ferrari, but it wasn’t always straightforward. The pair even clashed over the team radio. Who will be Hamilton’s race engineer in 2026 remains a secret for now at the Scuderia.
The team-radio exchanges between Lewis Hamilton and his now-former race engineer Riccardo Adami supplied plenty of laughs in 2026, but they also underlined the Brit’s awkward position inside Ferrari. At the recent Miami Grand Prix the Scuderia delayed calling Charles Leclerc back in to the pits. The Monegasque had to surrender his position on track to Hamilton. That prompted a sarcastic barb from Hamilton directed at Adami: “Why don’t you take a tea break as well, while you’re at it.”
New role for Adami
Hamilton later denied that there were tensions between himself and Adami, but last December team principal Frédéric Vasseur confirmed that Ferrari was nevertheless considering a different race engineer for the world champion. The decision has now been taken. “Ferrari announces that Riccardo Adami has been given a new role within the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy as manager of the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy and the Testing of Previous Cars programme,” reads Ferrari’s official press release.
“There, his extensive track experience and his Formula 1 expertise will contribute to the development of future talent and to strengthening the performance culture within the programme,” the Scuderia continued. “Ferrari thanks Riccardo for his commitment and contribution in his on-track role and wishes him every success in his new position. The appointment of the new race engineer for car number 44 (Hamilton, ed.) will be announced in due course.”
