Breaking: Hamilton confirms Ferrari race engineer update after frustrated Ra..read more
Hamilton confirms Ferrari race engineer update after frustrated Ra..read more
Lewis Hamilton has offered a positive progress report on his working relationship with Ferrari race engineer Riccardo Adami after a rocky opening stretch to their new partnership in the 2025 Formula 1 season. A driver’s race engineer is effectively their eyes and ears outside the cockpit, funnelling strategy calls, tyre information and pit-stop timing from the pit wall to the steering wheel. The very best pairings in recent F1 history—think Max Verstappen with Gianpiero Lambiase at Red Bull or Hamilton’s own long-standing alliance with Peter Bonnington at Mercedes—thrive on absolute clarity and trust.
When Hamilton stunned the paddock by switching to Ferrari, many assumed he would recreate that seamless Mercedes rapport overnight. Instead, the seven-time world champion and his new engineer endured a baptism of fire: radio exchanges laced with tension, delayed strategy calls and the sense that each was still learning the other’s language. The low point came in Miami, where Ferrari hesitated before ordering Charles Leclerc to let the faster-moving Hamilton through. As the laps ticked by, Hamilton’s frustration bubbled over; when Adami finally relayed the position-swap instruction, the Brit quipped witheringly, “Yeah, have a tea break while you’re at it!” The remark went viral, fuelling headlines about a supposed rift inside the Scuderia garage.
Fast-forward two weeks to the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola and the mood music is markedly different. Ferrari arrived with a package of aerodynamic upgrades and, crucially, a reset in communication protocols. Hamilton qualified outside the top ten—an outcome he called “painful” on Saturday—but on race day the prancing horse found its stride. Running an aggressive undercut strategy, Ferrari jumped several rivals, and Hamilton crossed the line fourth, narrowly missing out on a podium after hunting down Sergio Pérez in the closing laps.
Speaking to Sky Sports Italia, Hamilton showered praise on both Adami and the wider Ferrari pit wall: “The team executed the strategy perfectly—faultless, really. Riccardo’s radio was crystal-clear all afternoon. I kept my voice calm, he stayed calm, and that calmness spread through the whole crew. The pit stops were mega. Give me a few more laps and maybe we’d be talking about P3.”
Observers noted that the tone was a world away from the sarcasm of Miami. Hamilton’s words also underline how quickly fortunes can flip in F1: confidence breeds performance, and performance breeds more confidence. Imola was his first Ferrari race in front of the adoring tifosi, and delivering his best result of the season on home soil went a long way toward cementing goodwill within the scarlet ranks.
Adami, for his part, has spent a decade on Ferrari’s pit wall, engineering the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz, but guiding a superstar of Hamilton’s stature brings unique scrutiny. Sources inside the team say both men have invested extra hours in simulator sessions and pre-weekend briefing drills to streamline terminology and decision-making chains. The early signs at Imola suggest that effort is paying off.
Looking ahead, Hamilton knows consistency is the currency that decides championships. Ferrari’s upgrade path appears promising, and if driver and engineer continue to gel, the Scuderia may yet mount a sustained challenge as the European leg of the season unfolds. For now, Hamilton leaves Imola “calm,” “mega”-satisfied—and finally sounding like a man who has found his voice inside the famous red cockpit.
