Ferrari Targets Former McLaren Engineer for Hamilton's 2026 Race Engineer Role

Ferrari is reportedly eyeing former McLaren performance engineer Cedric Michel-Grosjean to become Lewis Hamilton's new race engineer for the 2026 season. This move follows the decision to part ways with Riccardo Adami after a challenging debut year for the seven-time champion at Maranello.

Why it matters:

The relationship between a driver and race engineer is critical for performance and strategy. Hamilton struggled to find a rhythm with Adami during the 2025 season, leading to tense radio exchanges and suboptimal track operations. Securing a compatible engineer is vital for Ferrari to maximize Hamilton's experience as they aim to challenge for the 2026 title.

The details:

• The Split: Ferrari confirmed earlier this month that Adami would not continue in his role. The pair failed to gel over 24 races, with issues ranging from awkward radio silences to disagreements on letting rivals through.
• The New Candidate: Michel-Grosjean served as a lead trackside performance engineer for Oscar Piastri at McLaren last season but left the team at the end of the year. Reports suggest he is the primary target to take over Hamilton's garage.
• Interim Measures: While the search concludes, Carlo Santi (formerly Kimi Raikkonen's engineer) is expected to manage Hamilton during the final two pre-season tests in Bahrain. Charles Leclerc’s engineer, Bryan Bozzi, will reportedly oversee the opening test in Barcelona.

Looking ahead:

Ferrari has declined to comment on the rumors. If Michel-Grosjean is appointed, he will need to quickly establish a rapport with Hamilton during pre-season testing to ensure the team hits the ground running in 2026.