Former Formula 1 drivers Karun Chandhok and Ivan Capelli have expressed concerns over Ferrari's delay in naming Lewis Hamilton's new race engineer ahead of the 2026 season. The seven-time champion is currently working with an interim engineer during Barcelona testing, following a challenging debut year with the team. This situation has raised questions about team preparation and driver integration.
Lewis Hamilton's transition to Ferrari has been marked by challenges, including a difficult 2025 season where he secured a sprint race victory in China but failed to podium in any grand prix. Tensions between Hamilton and his then-race engineer, Riccardo Adami, were evident during broadcasts, leading Ferrari to confirm in January 2026 that Adami would move to another role. No permanent replacement has been announced for the upcoming campaign.
During this week's Barcelona shakedown for the 2026 car, Hamilton has been overseen by Bryan Bozzi, who normally works with teammate Charles Leclerc. Testing occurred in wet conditions on Tuesday, with Hamilton completing his first meaningful laps. He remained cautious yet optimistic, stating, “We didn’t have any major problems, and that gives us a good base to continue learning and building on over the next two days.” He added, “I don’t want to say too much yet, because it’s difficult to know. I’ve only driven in the rain, and there’s much less downforce than last year.”
The delay has sparked alarm among pundits. Karun Chandhok, speaking on Sky Sports F1, highlighted the critical driver-engineer bond: “That relationship between driver and race engineer is so, so important. Getting the feedback from the driver, in my experience, a good engineer-driver relationship are the unspoken things.” He expressed confusion over the lack of winter bonding, suggesting missed opportunities like simulator sessions or testing of previous car (TPC) outings to integrate the new engineer into the team setup.
Ivan Capelli, in an interview with Sky Italia, called the situation unusual: “I find it odd that his race engineer, replacing Riccardo Adami, hasn’t been named yet. It might be a matter of time, but some things need to be announced in advance.” Speculation points to possible candidates like performance engineer Luca Diella or McLaren's Cedric-Michel Grosjean, who is on gardening leave but lacks prior race engineer experience in F1. Ferrari has not confirmed any details, leaving questions about Hamilton's pitwall structure as the team eyes competitiveness in 2026.
