In a surprising twist in the Formula 1 world, Lewis Hamilton is gearing up to team up with a familiar name from Ferrari history — Sebastian Vettel’s former race engineer, Riccardo Adami, as he joins the iconic Italian team in 2025.
Lewis Hamilton sent shockwaves through the racing community earlier this year when he announced his decision to leave Mercedes for Ferrari, starting from the 2025 season. This move puts an end to his illustrious partnership with Mercedes, a relationship that saw Hamilton clinch six of his seven World Championships. Mercedes powered his journey to surpassing 100 grand prix victories and pole positions, an achievement no other driver has accomplished in the sport.
While the ambitious move to Ferrari has been the talk of the paddock, another intriguing aspect of this transition is Hamilton’s collaboration with Riccardo Adami, a seasoned race engineer who previously worked with Sebastian Vettel. Vettel, a four-time World Champion, enjoyed a fruitful partnership with Adami at Ferrari between 2015 and 2020, securing 14 race victories under his guidance. Hamilton recently contacted Vettel to gauge Adami’s approach and received high praise for the engineer’s skills.
Adami, since 2021, has served as a race engineer to Carlos Sainz, who Hamilton will replace at the end of the year. Under Adami’s guidance, Sainz has managed to win three grands prix, including the recent Australian Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Hamilton’s future teammate at Ferrari, Charles Leclerc, has started working with a new race engineer, Bryan Bozzi, following internal reassignments within Ferrari.
Formula 1 reporter Giuliano Duchessa hinted on Twitter that Adami will likely be the voice in Hamilton’s headset during the races in 2025. Hamilton reportedly reached out to Vettel “some time ago” to discuss Adami’s potential role, which indicates early planning and adaptation efforts on Hamilton’s part. While Leclerc has expressed satisfaction with his new engineering setup, forecasting stability for the engineering teams, the rumors surrounding Adami seem to dispel any speculation about Hamilton’s long-time Mercedes engineer, Peter Bonnington, joining him at Ferrari due to a “no-poaching clause” in Hamilton’s contract with the German team.
The clause explicitly prohibits Hamilton from enticing Mercedes staff to switch allegiances, ensuring no direct recruitment from his old team. Despite this, other Mercedes personnel, including Loic Serra and Jerome D’Ambrosio, are set to join Ferrari’s ranks in pivotal roles later this year. The signings reflect ongoing strategic maneuvers within major F1 teams, as Ferrari fortifies its expertise with seasoned individuals from Mercedes, hoping to redefine its racing strategies and performance capabilities.
As for Hamilton’s contractual obligations with Mercedes, they could potentially delay his early involvement with Ferrari due to existing formalities. This situation mirrors past scenarios such as Vettel’s transition from Red Bull to Ferrari, where early releases allowed him to engage with his new team sooner. Hamilton has noted the need for discussions with Toto Wolff, Mercedes’ team principal, to resolve these formalities, possibly allowing him an early start with Ferrari before the 2025 season.
As Lewis Hamilton prepares for this significant career shift, the inclusion of Riccardo Adami adds an interesting layer to this evolving narrative. With fresh challenges and promising alliances on the horizon, it remains to be seen how this new chapter with Ferrari will unfold for Hamilton, a driver who continues to redefine the sport with each passing season.
