Ferrari Evaluating Race Engineer Change for Lewis Hamilton in 2026

Ferrari is considering a significant change to Lewis Hamilton's support team, with Team Principal Fred Vasseur stating the team is "evaluating all options" regarding whether Riccardo Adami will continue as the seven-time champion's race engineer into the 2026 season. The move comes after a challenging first year for Hamilton at Maranello, marked by a notable lack of on-track chemistry with Adami and a podium-less campaign.

Why it matters:

The relationship between a driver and their race engineer is one of the most critical partnerships in Formula 1, directly impacting strategy, car setup, and in-race performance. For a team with Ferrari's championship ambitions and a driver of Hamilton's caliber, ensuring perfect synergy is non-negotiable. A change here signals Ferrari's willingness to make tough personnel decisions to optimize performance for their marquee signing.

The details:

• Team Principal Fred Vasseur confirmed the evaluation in an end-of-season debrief, highlighting a focus on understanding Hamilton's specific needs and wants within the team structure.
• The 2025 season was punctuated by viral team radio clips showcasing tense exchanges and miscommunications between Hamilton and Adami, creating a prominent narrative around their working relationship.
• Hamilton endured his first podium-less season in his F1 career, finishing a distant 86 points behind teammate Charles Leclerc in the championship standings.
• Vasseur emphasized the situation is a "matter of mindset" and mutual understanding, noting that the dynamic with Leclerc is already well-established, whereas the team is still learning how to best work with Hamilton.

The big picture:

This evaluation is part of a broader, high-pressure mission to reverse Ferrari's fortunes before the 2026 regulation reset. The Scuderia has not won a Constructors' Championship since 2008 or a Drivers' title since 2007. Integrating a superstar like Hamilton and building a world-championship-winning operation around him is paramount. Every element, including the pivotal engineer-driver link, is under scrutiny as Ferrari seeks the final pieces needed to return to the top.

What's next:

Ferrari's management will decide in the coming months whether to maintain the current pairing or appoint a new race engineer for Hamilton. This decision will be a key indicator of the team's internal diagnosis of their 2025 struggles and their strategy for extracting maximum performance from their star driver. All eyes will be on the driver-engineer dynamic during 2026 pre-season testing as a first sign of whether the chosen path is yielding improved collaboration.