Will a new race engineer be the solution to Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari struggles?

It was evident from radio communication between Hamilton and Adami over the course of the 2025 F1 season that something was off between the two.

It is hard to tell how much of that affected the seven-time F1 Champion's performance in his maiden season in Red.

Hamilton struggled massively to keep up with Charles Leclerc and ended the year without even standing on the podium, not to mention several Q3 exits in qualifying.

Hamilton's Sprint win over the Chinese Grand Prix weekend was the only bright spot in an otherwise gloomy season for the Briton.

But what will a new race engineer do the trick for the struggling Ferrari driver?

Former F1 driver and six-time winner Riccardo Patrese claims it will; he said: "Lewis Hamilton will be better now he's changed engineer.

"There was friction from what we heard in the conversations between him and Adami during the races. The race engineer is very important in helping to make a driver more confident.

"So, if Lewis didn't like the feeling with his race engineer, having a new one would probably improve his mood and make a big difference. A good race engineer can make a lot of difference."

Looking back at his own experience, the Italian recalled: "When I was at Williams, even if the cars are the same, the team is the same, the opportunities are the same, the racing engineer really can make a lot of difference for the driver and also how to make that specific car go better."

For Hamilton, however, an eighth F1 Title remains the target, and Patrese believes that is possible with Ferrari.

"I think Lewis Hamilton can do it," he said. "He has to start to think that he can be competitive to win races. And then if he does that, he can start to think about an eighth world title.

"If he comes back like he was, and he has always proved to be a very quick driver, and then has the opportunity to win races, I think then you know his confidence will grow.

"And if he stimulates his confidence, which he lost a little bit last year, then anything can happen," 71-year-old Patrese concluded.

Hamilton has been making some positive noise about his 2026 car, the Ferrari SF-26, claiming it is much more enjoyable to drive than the previous ground-effect car. (Source: BetVictor Online Casino)