Ferrari has confirmed that Lewis Hamilton will have a new race engineer for his second season with the team, with Riccardo Adami shifting into a different position within the organisation. Adami had previously enjoyed success alongside Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz, but a series of tense radio exchanges beginning at the Australian Grand Prix put his dynamic with Hamilton under the microscope.
Ferrari has confirmed that Lewis Hamilton will have a new race engineer for his second season with the team, with Riccardo Adami shifting into a different position within the organisation.
Adami had previously enjoyed success alongside Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz, but a series of tense radio exchanges beginning at the Australian Grand Prix put his dynamic with Hamilton under the microscope.
Hamilton always maintained that there were no issues between them, but after failing to reach a single Grand Prix podium in his debut season, Ferrari decided it was time to make a change.
During that stretch, Hamilton claimed six world titles. Before joining the Scuderia, he’d worked alongside Peter Bonnington for 12 years at Mercedes. Their partnership became one of the most successful in F1 history.
Ferrari Unlikely to Bring in Peter Bonnington From Mercedes
There had been some talk about Bonnington potentially joining Hamilton at Ferrari in 2024, but instead, he stayed with Mercedes and took on a new role as head of race engineering.
Bonnington was instrumental in guiding Kimi Antonelli during his rookie season. The young driver made an immediate impact, securing three podium finishes and showing the kind of potential that has many tipping him as a future star.
With Ferrari making changes on Hamilton’s side of the garage, there will be fresh speculation about whether they might try again for Bonnington. However, a source in Italy told the Daily Mail that there’s ‘no chance’ of it happening this time either.
It appears more likely that Ferrari will look within their own ranks for a replacement. That’s what happened in 2024 when Bryan Bozzi stepped up to replace Xavi Marcos on Charles Leclerc’s side of the garage.
Brundle highlights why Hamilton needed Bonnington at Ferrari
According to Sky Sports’ Craig Slater, Hamilton was ‘extremely pleased’ with Mercedes’ decision to promote Bonnington in 2024, even though it meant the two wouldn’t be working together again.
Hamilton hasn’t made any public push for Ferrari to bring in Bonnington, although there’s little doubt that the move would have helped him settle into the team faster.
Martin Brundle pointed out how valuable Bonnington and other familiar faces could have been for Hamilton during the early stages of his time at Maranello. He said:
“It’s not always easy as we saw with Sebastian Vettel when he moved from Red Bull [to Ferrari], it’s such a culture shock,” Brundle told Sky Sports F1 ahead of the season.
“There is a different way of working, different way of thinking. I don’t think Lewis has got enough people around him yet who are his people. And I think that needs to happen quite quickly because it is quite tough.”
Schumacher had also worked under both men at Benetton, where he won his first two championships.
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Category: General Sports
