Lewis Hamilton crossed the finish line of the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix in fifth position, at the end of a difficult race in which he recovered two positions from his starting place. He was involved in a strange exchange with his race engineer Riccardo Adami, which was later clarified by Fred Vasseur. The Ferrari driver had started from seventh following a grid penalty for impeding Max Verstappen in qualifying.
However, the gap from the front was significant—51 seconds behind the race leader—highlighting a pace not on par with the top runners, especially in the second half of the race. This fueled frustration on the Briton’s part, which erupted over the team radio during and after the race.
Tense dialogue between Hamilton and Adami: relationship at a crossroads?
Immediately after the chequered flag, Hamilton thanked the team for their work but also sensed a certain coldness from his engineer Riccardo Adami. After an initially cordial exchange, the Briton asked a direct question.
“This is a P5. We lost a lot of time in traffic, we’ll have to investigate the rest,” said Riccardo Adami.
“Yeah, a big thanks to the guys, as I said, for fixing the car. It wasn’t an easy weekend, but we’re alive and can keep fighting.”
Moments later, during the cool-down lap, Hamilton asked, “Are you mad at me, is there something wrong?” But no reply came from the pit wall. It remains unclear whether this was a technical issue, a moment of strategic silence, or an early sign of internal tension.
Miscommunication had already surfaced in the closing laps
In the final laps, there had already been a tense exchange between Lewis Hamilton and his engineer, following a specific request for information on the gap to the leaders. The seven-time world champion, visibly frustrated, asked for a clear answer but received a vague reply.
“Are the front runners still a minute ahead?”
“I’ll summarize the situation for you…”
“You’re not answering the question. None of that matters to me. I’m just asking if I’m a minute behind or not.”
Riccardo Adami then confirmed:
“The gap is 48 seconds.”
After the race, however, Fred Vasseur clarified the incident to the media. According to the team principal, Riccardo Adami’s lack of response to Lewis Hamilton was simply due to an internal regulation stating that the race engineer may only speak to the driver on the straights. Fred Vasseur thus downplayed the post-race controversy, restoring calm in Maranello.
