Formula 1, Sportrik Media - Lewis Hamilton heads into the 2026 Formula 1 season with Ferrari amid renewed uncertainty over his race engineering structure. The situation has drawn scrutiny from former F1 driver Anthony Davidson, who underlined the importance of chemistry between driver and engineer.
After departing Mercedes for the 2025 campaign, Hamilton was paired with Ferrari veteran Riccardo Adami, previously race engineer to Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz. However, the partnership encountered visible difficulties, with tensions apparent during the Abu Dhabi season finale before Adami was reassigned in early January to Ferrari’s test and young driver programmes.
With just one week remaining before the opening round of the 2026 season, Ferrari has yet to confirm a permanent replacement. During pre-season testing, Hamilton worked alongside Carlo Santi, who previously engineered Kimi Raikkonen during the 2018 season, guiding the 2007 world champion to his final career victory at the United States Grand Prix.
Santi is set to continue supporting Hamilton through the opening races while Ferrari finalises its long-term appointment. Davidson expressed surprise that the seven-time world champion had not already begun building a working relationship with his future permanent engineer during testing.
“It’s such a special relationship that you need with your race engineer, and you have to bounce off each other,” Davidson told RacingNews365.
“I’m really surprised and intrigued that he hasn’t been working with whoever it is going to end up being.
“He hasn’t had a chance to actually gel. You need that chemistry. We saw and heard that it didn’t work last year.
“I hope for his sake, and whoever the new engineer will be, I hope it’s a better match.”
For Ferrari and Hamilton, operational cohesion will be decisive in the early phase of the campaign, particularly at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. The effectiveness of this interim structure under competitive pressure will provide an early indication of Ferrari’s trajectory in the 2026 championship fight.
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