Ferrari axe Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer – just seven weeks before 2026 F1 season

Ferrari have announced that Lewis Hamilton will have a new race engineer this season with Riccardo Adami dropped from his role.

Italian engineer Adami, who was previously the race engineer for Carlos Sainz and Sebastian Vettel, has moved to a new role within the Ferrari Driver Academy and the team’s TPC (Testing of Previous Cars) programme.

Hamilton, 41, struggled to form a positive working relationship with Adami in his first season in red, amid struggles on track which saw the Briton fail to register a podium for the first time in 19 F1 seasons.

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The pair’s miscommunication regularly played out over team radio and was evident from the first race in Australia, when Hamilton lost his patience and told Adami: “Leave me to it.”

A new race engineer will be announced “in due course”, the team say.

A Ferrari statement on Friday evening read: “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 F1 expertise contributes 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.”

Hamilton endured the worst year of his career in his first season at the Scuderia, with a solitary sprint race win in China the highlight in an otherwise forgettable campaign.

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The 41-year-old finished sixth in the world championship, while teammate Charles Leclerc finished 86 points ahead in the standings.

Hamilton’s relationship with Adami was in stark contrast to his close bond with Peter Bonnington at Mercedes, whom he worked with for all six of his world championships with the Silver Arrows.

Bonnington is now the race engineer for Hamilton’s replacement, Italian teenager Kimi Antonelli.

Ferrari launch their 2026 car next Friday, 23 January, three days before the first pre-season test in Barcelona. The new season starts on 8 March with the Australian Grand Prix.