When Lewis Hamilton announced his blockbuster move to Ferrari, the world expected fireworks. What we got instead was a slow-motion car crash of a season that has now claimed its first major casualty. In a move that has sent shockwaves through the Formula 1 paddock, Ferrari has confirmed that Riccardo Adami will no longer serve as Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer heading into the critical 2026 season.
This wasn’t a quiet reshuffle. It is a cold, calculated admission by the Scuderia that Hamilton’s debut season in red was a catastrophic failure—and that a full reset is the only option left to salvage the seven-time world champion’s final shot at glory.
The Anatomy of a Disaster
To understand why this decision was inevitable, you have to look at the numbers. They are, quite simply, unprecedented for a driver of Hamilton’s caliber. The 2025 season saw Hamilton compete in 24 races without scoring a single Grand Prix podium. It was a statistical nadir never before seen in his 18-year career.
But the pain went deeper than the lack of silverware. Hamilton finished the season sixth in the Drivers’ Championship, a staggering 86 points behind his teammate, Charles Leclerc, in identical machinery. In qualifying—the very arena where Hamilton built his legend—he was beaten 19 times by the Monegasque driver. The year ended with a humiliating string of three consecutive Q1 eliminations, leaving the British legend looking not just defeated, but lost.
Ferrari, a team famous for its patience with drivers but ruthlessness with staff, could no longer ignore the reality. The partnership between Hamilton and Adami, a veteran engineer who had previously guided Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz to victory, was fundamentally broken.
The “Radio Silence” That Spoke Volumes
From the outside, the friction appeared as awkward pauses and disjointed radio exchanges. But inside the cockpit, it was a crisis of confidence. Hamilton, who had spent 12 years synced perfectly with Peter “Bono” Bonnington at Mercedes, found himself adrift without that instinctive connection.
The cracks appeared early. In Miami, Hamilton sarcastically asked if the pit wall wanted a “tea break” as strategy decisions lagged. But the defining moment came in Monaco. Amidst a tense exchange, Hamilton asked Adami directly: “Are you upset with me or something?”
The response was a heavy, lingering silence. It was a moment that stripped away the PR veneer and revealed a partnership devoid of the telepathic trust required to win championships. Hamilton didn’t just need data; he needed a voice that understood his rhythm, his tone, and his needs before he even pressed the radio button. Adami, for all his experience and technical brilliance, simply wasn’t that voice.
Enter The “Secret Weapon”: Luca Diella
Ferrari’s solution is not to look outward, but to reach back into Hamilton’s past. While the team has yet to officially confirm the replacement, all signs point to the promotion of Luca Diella (referred to by sources close to the team as the “Lucadella” move).
Diella is not a stranger. He was a key figure in Hamilton’s engineering team at Mercedes, serving as his performance engineer during the intense title fights of 2021. He joined Ferrari quietly in 2025, and by the Belgian Grand Prix, he was already being moved closer to Hamilton’s side of the garage as the team tried to stop the bleeding.
This promotion is Ferrari’s ace in the hole. Diella already knows how Hamilton thinks. He understands the shorthand, the emotional cues, and the specific feedback loops that Hamilton relies on to extract maximum performance. By placing him on the radio, Ferrari is attempting to artificially accelerate the bonding process that usually takes years.
No More Excuses
The timing of this move is critical. The 2026 season brings a massive regulation overhaul—new power units, new aero rules, and a completely clean slate. For a 41-year-old Hamilton, this represents his final realistic window to capture that elusive eighth world title.
By removing Adami and installing a familiar ally, Ferrari has effectively removed the last variable Hamilton could point to as a reason for underperformance. The team has bent over backward to accommodate him, sacrificing a loyal, long-serving engineer to make their star driver comfortable.
The message from Maranello is clear: We have fixed the car. We have fixed the team. We have fixed the engineer. Now, the burden of performance rests entirely on Lewis Hamilton’s shoulders.
The 2025 season was a warning. 2026 will be the verdict. If the “Hamilton Experiment” at Ferrari fails again, there will be no one left to blame but the man behind the wheel.
