The Lewis Hamilton radio moment that sealed Riccardo Adami’s Ferrari exit. The Lewis Hamilton radio message that exposed growing tensions at Ferrari.

Riccardo Adami will be replaced as Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer at Ferrari for the 2026 Formula 1 season, the Scuderia confirmed in an official statement on Friday. While Adami will remain within the Ferrari organisation, he will take on a new role leading the Ferrari Driver Academy, overseeing the development of young talent. The decision comes after a difficult first season for Hamilton, in which he failed to secure a single Grand Prix podium, making the restructuring unsurprising.

The friction between Hamilton and Adami was evident from the very start of the season. During his debut at the Australian Grand Prix, Hamilton expressed that he was not receiving the necessary information from his engineer, a signal of the communication challenges that would define the year ahead. The tension persisted, notably during the Miami Grand Prix, when Hamilton reportedly joked about Adami taking a ‘tea break’ as the team debated potential car swaps, highlighting the growing strain in their working relationship. However, it was another radio exchange later in the season that made it clear the partnership was struggling to succeed.

Frustration builds at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Throughout the season, Hamilton maintained publicly that he had no personal issues with Adami, even praising the Italian as an “amazing” engineer with a strong work ethic. The seven-time world champion noted that both he and Adami were still in the process of adapting to each other’s styles. Hamilton had spent 12 years working with Peter Bonnington at Mercedes, forming a deeply intuitive partnership, while Adami had supported Carlos Sainz between 2021 and 2024.

Despite these acknowledgements, it became increasingly apparent that the driver and engineer were not fully in sync by the season finale in Abu Dhabi. When Adami informed Hamilton that he was racing Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto for position, Hamilton responded by insisting that he was already aware and requested to be left alone to focus. A later radio exchange proved even more telling: while Hamilton was reporting track limits infringements, he asked Adami not to confirm his statements, frustrated that the communication was becoming unnecessarily repetitive. Adami acknowledged this, but Hamilton’s irritation was clear and unmissable.

Different communication styles prevent cohesion

Over the course of 24 races and numerous testing sessions, Hamilton and Adami were unable to find a working rhythm. After more than 100 collaborative sessions, the lack of cohesion remained a persistent issue. It appeared that their communication styles were fundamentally different, and no compromise could fully bridge the gap. Hamilton’s underlying frustration with the situation was evident, reinforcing the need for a change ahead of the 2026 season.

While a reunion with Peter Bonnington would have been an ideal scenario for Hamilton, the prospect has already been ruled out. Bonnington has embarked on a new role with Mercedes, partnering with teenage sensation Kimi Antonelli as his race engineer. With that option unavailable, Ferrari will now need to appoint a new race engineer capable of providing both technical insight and the level of personal support Lewis Hamilton requires to thrive in his second year with the Scuderia.