At Imola, it seemed like water under the bridge, but the problems returned in Monaco: Lewis Hamilton and those confusing communications with his race engineer in F1, Riccardo Adami, on the Ferrari pit wall. The Briton didn’t receive the right information over the radio, struggling to find alignment with his engineer. Difficulties that began as early as Saturday, with the misunderstanding during Max Verstappen’s arrival, which then led to a grid penalty.
Formula 1 leaves Monte Carlo after a chaotic yet ultimately uneventful Grand Prix. Podium positions were frozen: Lando Norris wins, ahead of Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri. Fourth place went to Max Verstappen, who waited until the last possible moment for his second pit stop. Behind them, far from the Top 4, was Lewis Hamilton, who nevertheless managed to recover two positions.
Not the race the Briton had hoped for: “Last week went well, this time not – he explained to reporters – I mean, qualifying fourth wasn’t bad, anyway.” The seven-time world champion didn’t seem enthusiastic; his answers were terse, and the difference in his mood compared to the Imola Grand Prix was striking.
Hamilton and Adami, no chemistry: too many misunderstandings over the radio
It’s clear that something is not working for Lewis Hamilton. Once again under the spotlight is Riccardo Adami, his race engineer. The relationship between the two continues to be inconsistent, with too many misunderstandings and communication errors. The incident in qualifying was telling: when Max Verstappen approached, the Ferrari driver was told that the Dutchman wasn’t on a flying lap. A grid penalty for impeding followed immediately.
Even during the Monaco Grand Prix, the coordination seemed to be lacking: “The information I received wasn’t… clear enough,” explained the Briton to Sky Sports. “I didn’t really understand what they meant by ‘this is our race.’ I didn’t know what I was fighting for. Was I battling the driver ahead of me or what? In fact, when I looked at the data, I wasn’t close to any of the cars in front.”
“At that moment, I used the tyres a lot, but I was really far from anyone else,” the Ferrari driver concluded.
