Lewis Hamilton calls Ferrari's engineer shuffle 'detrimental' to season start

Lewis Hamilton has labeled Ferrari's ongoing race engineer situation as "detrimental" to his start of the 2025 season, as he faces working with a temporary engineer before another permanent switch early in the year. The seven-time champion is currently paired with Carlo Santi for the opening races, a stopgap solution before the expected arrival of former McLaren engineer Cédric Michel-Grosjean.

Why it matters:

A stable driver-engineer relationship is a critical, often underrated component of success in Formula 1. For Hamilton, who is entering his crucial second year at Ferrari aiming to rebound from a difficult debut, this instability and need to adapt to multiple new voices in his ear could disrupt his early-season rhythm and performance. It adds an unnecessary layer of complexity as the team also grapples with understanding the new 2025 technical regulations.

The details:

• Ferrari announced in mid-January that Hamilton's 2024 race engineer, Riccardo Adami, was moved to a managerial role within the Driver Academy and historic car testing programs.
• As an interim solution, Hamilton is working with Carlo Santi, Ferrari's head of remote engineering and Kimi Raikkonen's former race engineer, for the first three to four Grands Prix.
• The team is understood to be finalizing the appointment of Cédric Michel-Grosjean, a former McLaren engineer, as Hamilton's permanent race engineer for the remainder of the season.
  • This creates a unique challenge, as Michel-Grosjean will need to rapidly get up to speed not only with Hamilton's preferences but also with the nuances of the new wide-sweeping 2025 car regulations.
• Hamilton expressed gratitude for Adami's work during a "difficult year" but highlighted the disruption caused by the current plan.

What's next:

Hamilton and the team must now make the best of a less-than-ideal scenario. The early races will be a period of adaptation with Santi, followed by another reset when Michel-Grosjean presumably takes over. Hamilton's ability to quickly build rapport and effective communication with each engineer will be tested, putting additional pressure on his start to a season where consistent points finishes are vital for any championship aspirations. The team's support in making these transitions "as seamless as possible" will be crucial.