Lewis Hamilton had a challenging first year at Ferrari during the 2025 F1 season. Following a drop in form at Mercedes since the start of the 2022 season, many expected the 7-time World Champion to have a complete turnaround upon joining the iconic Italian team.
Instead, he finished a distant sixth in the Driver's World Championship, scoring 156 points compared to teammate Charles Leclerc's 242 points (who had to settle for fifth place). His replacement at Mercedes, rookie Kimi Antonelli, only finished six points behind the veteran Hamilton.
Much has been said about Hamilton's race pace, but his future will surely hinge on how the 2026 season goes. Right now, it doesn't sound like Ferrari intends to make any sweeping changes within the team.
Fans and pundits alike have picked up on what seems to be a tense relationship between Hamilton and his race engineer Riccardo Adami. Strong words have frequently been exchanged on the radio as both men have appeared to struggle to adapt to the other's preferred style of communication. It was a particularly hard transition for Hamilton after spending 13 years at Mercedes with Peter "Bono" Bonnington.
However, according to GPblog, Adami looks set to remain Hamilton's race engineer. Leclerc, meanwhile, will continue working with Bryan Bozzi.
Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur previously addressed the 7-time World Champion's struggles at the team when he said, "I think it was difficult for Lewis, and that’s a mild way of putting it. Because after 20 years with Mercedes – I say 20 years, because for me, McLaren was McLaren-Mercedes, and then [he was with] Mercedes – it was a huge change."
"I personally underestimated the step. It’s not that we are doing things worse or better. We are just doing things differently," the Frenchman continued. "It's not just about the food or the weather; every single software is different, every single component is different, and the people around him were different."
At the time, Vasseur hinted that Ferrari would consider changing Hamilton's race engineer; as of now, it seems all involved decided that wouldn't be necessary.
As for Hamilton's future in Formula 1, big questions remain. Despite his legendary status, if Ferrari doesn't see significant improvement from him with the new cars and regulations, then it will surely be decided that a change is needed. Still, the team gave neither him nor Leclarc a car capable of fighting for wins in 2025, so the pressure is also on the team to deliver.
Keep checking back here for updates as we have them.