Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari Tenure Disrupted By Shock Split Behind the Scenes

The 2025 that Lewis Hamilton experienced was far from ideal. A headline move to Italian giants Ferrari was upended by a sixth-placed Drivers' Championship finish and no classified podiums for the first time in his career.

His struggles were further displayed by the success of Charles Leclerc in what was a Ferrari car that lacked the pace to keep up with McLaren, who won the Constructors' Championship in dominant fashion, as well as the Red Bull of Max Verstappen.

But a surprise roster change will impact his upcoming 2026 season in a way that could lead to a stronger season than his debut year with the Prancing Horses, and with Hamilton now 41 and surely looking to retire sooner rather than later, this move may be vital in rekindling his career.

Race engineer Riccardo Adami moving to new role in Ferrari Academy

Announced on Friday was the news that Lewis Hamilton will have a new race engineer for the 2026 season, as previous engineer Riccardo Adami will depart to take up a new role in Ferrari’s Driver Development Programme.

Ferrari’s full statement on Adami’s move reads:

"Scuderia Ferrari HP announces that Riccardo Adami has moved to a new role within the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy as Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy and Test Previous Cars Manager, where his extensive trackside experience and Formula 1 expertise contributes to the development of future talent and to strengthening performance culture across the program."
Ferrari

"Scuderia Ferrari HP would like to thank Riccardo for his commitment and contribution to his trackside role and wishes him every success in his new position. The appointment of the new Race Engineer for car #44 will be announced in due course."

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari | Scuderia Ferrari

The next few weeks will be busy for Ferrari, with the search for a new race engineer - and the right fit - for Lewis Hamilton needed, as well as their January 23 car reveal and upcoming testing period next month.

Rumors of Hamilton being irritated throughout the season with Adami were downplayed by Ferrari, but incidents at the Monaco Grand Prix, where Hamilton received radio silence after asking his team, ‘Are you mad at me?’, as well as an incident at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Hamilton seemed visibly annoyed with Adami.

With such a crucial change to Hamilton’s communications team, next season will hopefully see a change for the veteran Briton’s pace, which was neither present on Saturday nor Sunday for most of the year, leading to an average qualifying pace four positions below his teammate.

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