Concern raised over Lewis Hamilton’s lack of “chemistry” with Ferrari engineer

Does Lewis Hamilton need a new race engineer at Ferrari in 2026?

31 Oct 2025

Lewis Hamilton’s lack of chemistry with race engineer Riccardo Adami is a cause for concern, according to one ex-F1 driver.

Hamilton’s 12-year stint at Mercedes meant his long-term working relationship with Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington finally came to an end.

With Bonnington staying at the Brackley-based team, Hamilton has been working with a new race engineer for the first time since 2012.

Adami is a well-known figure in F1, having previously worked with Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz before Hamilton’s arrival.

However, so far, Hamilton and Adami haven’t clicked.

While things have improved from earlier in the season in terms of Adami’s communication and understanding of what Hamilton wants, there’s still a clear lack of chemistry, according to Robert Doornbos.

Doornbos highlighted how Adami informed Hamilton of his 10-second time penalty at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Adami told Hamilton: “We have a 10-second time penalty for the incident at turn four with Verstappen. We don’t agree, but let’s keep the head down.”

“No chemistry” between Hamilton and Adami

Doornbos, who raced for Red Bull in 2006, questioned Hamilton and Adami’s relationship, stating they “don’t feel like they’re switched on to each other.”

“I think because there is just no chemistry between the engineer and the driver,” he said.

“The communication between Lewis and Ricky [Adami], his engineer, it just doesn’t feel like they’re switched on to each other.

“It’s Ricky saying, ‘We’ve got a 10-second [penalty] because of this and this situation.’ Lewis said ‘Yeah, but it was very difficult to stay on.’ We know Lewis. I don’t think they’re really on it.”

Sky Sports’ Karun Chandhok also questioned Adami’s delivery.

“That’s poor communication, because you’ve unnecessarily riled up the driver without giving him all of the facts,” Chandhok said live on air. “And I think that’s not actually true. He’s not been given a penalty for the incident, he’s been given the penalty because he gained time.”