'Detrimental': Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton Opens Up On Race Engineer Shake-Up

Last Updated:February 12, 2026, 09:47 IST

Lewis Hamilton reflects on his tough split with Riccardo Adami after a challenging debut season with Ferrari last year.

Lewis Hamilton doesn’t shy away from tough decisions, but this one clearly lingered.

The seven-time world champion has opened up about his split with longtime race engineer Riccardo Adami after his first season at Ferrari, calling it a “pretty difficult decision to make."

Adami has since moved into a role within Ferrari’s academy setup, ending a partnership that endured what Hamilton described as “a difficult year for us all."

“Firstly, with Riccardo it was a pretty difficult decision to make, and I’m really, really grateful for all the effort he put in last year, and his patience," Hamilton said during pre-season testing in Bahrain. “It was a difficult year for us all."

The 41-year-old made it clear there’s no bad blood.

A Temporary Fix?

For now, Carlo Santi — who previously worked with Kimi Raikkonen and operated from Ferrari’s remote garage — has stepped into the race engineer role.

But Hamilton hinted this isn’t a long-term solution.

“It’s actually quite a difficult era, because it’s not long-term, the solution that I currently have — it’s only a few races," he explained. “So early on into the season, it’s going to all be switching up again, and I’ll have to learn to work with someone new."

That kind of instability isn’t ideal heading into a title campaign.

“That’s detrimental for me too," Hamilton admitted. “You want to arrive with people that have done multiple seasons, that have been through thick and thin, and I can’t."

Still, the Briton isn’t making excuses. “It is the situation that I’m faced with, and I’ll try to do the best that I can. The team is trying to do the best they can to make it as seamless as possible."

After two rounds of pre-season testing in Bahrain, the 2026 campaign roars to life at the Australian Grand Prix from March 6–8.

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