Lewis Hamilton has made his demands perfectly clear as Ferrari appointment deadline nears
Lewis Hamilton is getting a new race engineer at Ferrari after his first season with the Italian team didn’t go according to plan
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Lewis Hamilton will hope to put his initial Ferrari struggles behind him in 2026(Image: NurPhoto, NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton will enter the 2026 Formula 1 season with a significant behind-the-scenes shake-up, providing all goes to plan. The seven-time world champion will have a different race engineer in his corner after an initial campaign with Riccardo Adami failed to deliver the desired results, but time is running out to get Adami’s successor in place.
Hamilton’s maiden Ferrari season saw him claim sixth place in the Drivers’ Championship, trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc by more than 80 points and finishing over 250 points behind world champion Lando Norris. Hamilton wasn’t able to achieve a single podium GP finish with his new team and, while nobody is being directly held accountable for the disappointing campaign, there’s mutual agreement that things need to be different in 2026.
Although no appointment has been confirmed at present, Ferrari are eager to finalise arrangements as quickly as possible, with Leclerc’s engineer Bryan Bozzi working with both drivers until Hamilton’s new engineer takes over. The objective is to have someone in position ahead of testing in Bahrain in early February, according to Sky Sports, providing Hamilton with the optimal opportunity to launch his season strongly.
One candidate being discussed is Cedric Michel-Grosjean, who previously collaborated with Oscar Piastri at McLaren before leaving at the conclusion of the 2025 season and is anticipated to join the Scuderia following his gardening leave period. Regardless of the final choice, there’s an increasing awareness of the requirements needed to establish the right chemistry with Hamilton.
“I’m surprised it probably didn’t happen a bit earlier, really, judging by all the things that were going on last year,” Sky Sports F1 pundit Martin Brundle said earlier this month. “Lewis needs to go there with a team so that at least they understand ‘Lewis speak’ when he’s inside the car, what it all means, and to interpret what Lewis really needs behind the wheel.
“Just listening to the radio and watching the performance, although they obviously put a varnish on it through last season, something needed to change,” Brundle added. Still, despite the impending change, Hamilton isn’t interested in pointing fingers and is keen to have everyone at Ferrari united in their goals.
He said: “I don’t feel like there’s a blame culture here. We’re all in the same boat. Ultimately we all have to take accountability and responsibility, absolutely all of us, and every single one of us have to play our part. I firmly believe in the decision I made to come here. I back my team 100% and I back myself still 100%.”
What will be essential, however, is establishing clear communication. This proved to be a significant challenge when it came to Hamilton’s work with Adami and there will be pressure on the team to get things right with their new appointment.
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Hamilton worked with Riccardo Adami during the 2025 season(Image: Bryn Lennon – Formula 1, Formula 1 via Getty Images)
Hamilton has openly acknowledged his personality means whoever joins his team must be able to handle his occasionally challenging temperament. Pete ‘Bono’ Bonnington served as his engineer at Mercedes, where the British driver secured six of his seven world championships, and their close bond was recognised as a contributing factor.
Speaking in 2023, Hamilton said: “I’m incredibly grateful for Bono. I’ve had an amazing journey with him, I think we’ve got one of the longest, if not the longest-standing driver-engineer partnerships that there’s been, and he’s been hugely integral to my success.
“I think he’s probably one of the few people that can truly stand me, I would say, on the good and bad days – except for Roscoe (Hamilton’s dog, who died in 2025) – and how calm he’s able to be throughout a race, and how he’s able to help guide and help me navigate through a race. I don’t think there’s many people that can do that.”
Whether it’s Michel-Grosjean or another candidate in Hamilton’s ear for the 2026, and possibly longer, they’ll need to understand how important it is to deliver crystal-clear communication in a manner the 41 year old can digest. On top of this they’ll need to deliver composure and avoid finger-pointing when pressure mounts.
