Lewis Hamilton bemoans ‘detrimental’ Ferrari situation as worrying ‘solution’ explained | F1 | Sport

Lewis Hamilton has bemoaned his ‘detrimental’ race engineer situation, confirming that he will be without a full-time race engineer until a handful of races into the 2026 season. The seven-time world champion split with Riccardo Adami after a challenging first year with his new team.

When Hamilton swapped Mercedes for Ferrari, he was unable to bring his longtime engineering partner, Peter Bonnington, with him. Instead, he teamed up with Adami, who had previously served as race engineer for Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz.

Unfortunately for both parties, the relationship didn’t progress as hoped, and communications were a constant issue. After the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Ferrari confirmed that Adami has been moved into a role within the Ferrari Driver Academy for the 2026 season, as well as taking on TPC organisation duties.

Hamilton, though, remains without a full-time engineer. He was helped by Charles Leclerc’s engineer, Bryan Bozzi, during the first pre-season test, and will work alongside Carlo Santi, formerly of Kimi Raikkonen’s entourage, on an interim basis. It is believed that Cedric Michel-Grosjean will eventually become the 41-year-old’s full-time race engineer.

“Well, firstly, with Riccardo, it’s obviously a very difficult decision to make,” Hamilton said at the second pre-season test in Bahrain. “I’m really, really grateful for all the effort he put in last year and his patience. It was a difficult year for us all.

“It’s actually quite a difficult period because it’s not long-term — the solution that I currently have is only going to be a few races. And so early on into the season, it’s going to be switching up again, and I’ll have to learn to work with someone new. So that’s detrimental to me, too.”

The Brit added: “It’s a season where you want to arrive with people that have done multiple seasons, that have been through thick and thin and calm. But it is the situation that I’m faced with and I’ll try and do the best I can. The team is trying to do the best they can to help make it as seamless as possible.”

The 2026 season is a make-or-break year for Hamilton and his partnership with Ferrari. The 105-time Grand Prix winner failed to register a podium finish during the 2025 campaign, but is hoping that the new technical regulations could provide him with a fresh slate from which he can return to World Championship contention.