Ferrari are facing an urgent need for a technical and operational reset after a challenging 2025 Formula 1 season that fell short in almost every area. The Scuderia’s struggles extended across car performance, strategy execution, and internal team dynamics, highlighting the need for a fresh approach during the winter development period.
Lewis Hamilton endured a difficult debut season with Ferrari in 2025, marked not only by inconsistent results on track but also by a strained working relationship with his assigned race engineer, Riccardo Adami. Lewis Hamilton had previously built an exceptionally strong rapport with Peter Bonnington at Mercedes, a partnership that contributed to six drivers’ championships over twelve seasons at Brackley.
When Lewis Hamilton made his move to Ferrari at the start of 2025, he faced the challenge of adapting to a new team environment and a new race engineer. While Mercedes retained Bonnington in his familiar role, promoting him to head of race engineering and assigning him to Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s rookie season, the Briton was paired with Adami instead. Riccardo Adami, who joined Ferrari in 2015, had worked extensively with Sebastian Vettel and later with Carlos Sainz from 2021 to 2024, but had never shared the same level of understanding with Lewis Hamilton that Bonnington had developed.
Throughout the 2025 season, tensions between Lewis Hamilton and Riccardo Adami were evident during numerous radio exchanges. One particularly high-profile incident occurred at the Miami Grand Prix, where Lewis Hamilton jokingly accused Riccardo Adami of taking “a tea break” as the team hesitated over implementing strategic orders. Another significant moment came in Monaco, when Adami’s miscommunication regarding Max Verstappen’s flying lap led to Lewis Hamilton receiving a grid penalty for impeding the Red Bull driver.
These repeated issues underline why Ferrari must seriously consider replacing Riccardo Adami before the 2026 season. The introduction of new technical regulations, including the removal of the MGU-H and a dramatic increase in the role of electrical power—moving from a 20/80 to a 50/50 split between combustion and electrical systems—will place an even greater emphasis on the driver-race engineer relationship. Effective communication and trust between Lewis Hamilton and his engineer will be essential for energy management, strategy execution, and in-race decision-making.
Hywel Thomas, director of Mercedes High Performance Powertrains, emphasized that the evolving 2026 regulations will make race engineer guidance critical. He noted that drivers will rely heavily on their engineers to manage electrical energy effectively, determining the right moments to defend, attack, and push the car to its limits. Thomas highlighted that this will require more strategic coordination than ever before, comparing it to the complexities faced in 2013-2014.
Additionally, Formula 1 will replace the current DRS system with a manual power boost mode in 2026. This feature allows a chasing driver to draw more electrical power when within one second of the car ahead, further underscoring the need for seamless communication and a strong strategic bond between driver and engineer. If Lewis Hamilton continues to experience friction with Riccardo Adami, Ferrari risk undermining their competitiveness in a season defined by major technical changes.
Given these circumstances, Ferrari must act decisively to ensure Lewis Hamilton has a race engineer who can match his experience, anticipate his needs, and fully understand the intricacies of the new power unit and strategic systems. The right engineering support could make the difference between a challenging season and a championship-contending campaign in 2026.
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