Ferrari removes Hamilton engineer as ‘disaster’ looms

Jan.19 (GMM) Ferrari has ended the strained relationship between Lewis Hamilton and his race engineer Riccardo Adami, confirming the Italian has been moved out of a trackside role ahead of the crucial 2026 reset.

In a statement, Scuderia Ferrari announced that Adami will take up a “new role” within the Ferrari Driver Academy.

“His extensive trackside experience and Formula 1 expertise will contribute to the development of future talent and to strengthening performance culture across the program,” the Maranello based marque declared.

Ferrari added that the seven time world champion’s new race engineer will be announced “in due course”.

Adami joined Ferrari in 2015, initially reuniting with Sebastian Vettel before working with Carlos Sainz and then Hamilton, whose difficult first season after leaving Mercedes in 2025 was marked by visible tension over the radio and inconsistent performance.

Speculation over his replacement has centred on Luca Diella, who joined Ferrari from Mercedes in 2025 and worked closely with Hamilton during the second half of last season.

“There was a good dynamic right from the start,” the 41-year-old said last year, “and that was reflected in the progress we’ve made since Spa.”

The change comes amid growing unease around Ferrari’s wider 2026 project. Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher claimed on Sky Deutschland that early indicators point to deeper problems.

“The disaster, as we’re already seeing from the numbers, seems to be Ferrari again,” Schumacher said. “They’re developing two cars, and I can almost imagine why, because Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have completely different opinions.

“You can’t develop two cars,” he insisted. “If that’s the case, then it’s a disaster from the start.”

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur has tried to dampen expectations ahead of the opening closed-door group test in Barcelona, insisting early running will be misleading.

“We’ll see a lot of A-spec cars in Barcelona before the cards are laid on the table in Bahrain,” Vasseur said, playing down the significance of initial laptimes.

Even Ferrari’s image has come under fire. Antoine Le Nel, marketing director of Revolut and title sponsor of Audi, openly criticised Ferrari’s HP-branded livery.

“No offense intended, but I think what HP and Ferrari did with their cars isn’t good from a design perspective,” he said. “How can you put blue on a red car? That’s not good.”

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