Lewis Hamilton–Riccardo Adami split: why British pundits say Ferrari acted too late. Lewis Hamilton will work with a new race engineer at Ferrari.

F1 | “Ferrari should have done it earlier”: the British verdict on the Hamilton–Adami case

Ferrari has decided to accommodate Lewis Hamilton, who will be assigned a new race engineer following the replacement of Riccardo Adami. However, according to Martin Brundle, the Maranello-based team waited too long before making this decision. The relationship between the highly experienced engineer, who boasts a long and prestigious career, and the seven-time world champion never appeared particularly smooth. This has raised the question of whether the Scuderia should have intervened during the season rather than waiting.

Throughout the year, much discussion has focused on the well-known “dossiers” sent by Lewis Hamilton to his new team. These collections of documents reportedly included requests, observations and suggestions aimed at improving trackside operations and work at the factory. While it remains unclear how many of these notes were actually taken into consideration by team principal Frédéric Vasseur, Ferrari ultimately decided to satisfy the British driver at least within his side of the garage.

According to reports from Corriere della Sera, it was the seven-time world champion himself who allegedly “called for Riccardo Adami’s head”. The Italian engineer will be replaced by a new arrival, likely coming from McLaren. However, this move has not fully convinced British observers, with Martin Brundle arguing that the change came too late.

Brundle’s view on Hamilton and Adami

“I’m surprised it didn’t happen a bit earlier, to be honest, considering all the things that happened last year,” explained the former Formula 1 driver and current Sky Sports F1 pundit, as quoted by crash.net. “Lewis needs a team that at least understands his language when he’s in the car, what he really means when he says something, and that can interpret what he genuinely needs at the wheel.”

Martin Brundle believes the split was ultimately necessary. During the course of the season, “it was clear that something had to change,” he added, despite Ferrari’s attempts to repair and stabilise the working relationship between Hamilton and Adami.