who will be lewis hamilton's race engineer at ferrari
Ferrari have not officially announced who will be Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer for the 2026 F1 season, so the question does not have a confirmed factual answer yet.
What is officially known?
- Riccardo Adami, who was Hamilton’s race engineer in his first Ferrari season in 2025, has been moved into a new role in the Ferrari Driver Academy and test programme, so he will no longer be on Hamilton’s pit wall in 2026.
- Ferrari have explicitly stated that the race engineer for car #44 (Hamilton) “will be announced in due course,” which means the team has not publicly named the replacement yet.
In other words: the seat on the radio is open, and Ferrari are keeping the final name under wraps for now.
The main frontrunner being reported
Several reports point to Luca Diella as the leading candidate to become Hamilton’s new race engineer, but this is being described as expectation and paddock reporting, not an official confirmation from Ferrari.
Key points about Diella:
- He is currently Hamilton’s performance engineer at Ferrari and worked with him previously at Mercedes, focusing on power‑unit and trackside performance.
- Italian outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport and other media describe him as the frontrunner for the race‑engineer role on Hamilton’s car.
- Ferrari declined to comment on those reports when asked, reinforcing that nothing is formally announced yet.
Why Ferrari are making a change
- Hamilton’s first season at Ferrari (2025) was difficult: no wins and no podiums, his first F1 season without a podium since debuting in 2007.
- There were repeated signs of miscommunication and tension on the radio between Hamilton and Adami, even though both publicly downplayed any serious rift.
- Team boss Frédéric Vasseur has spoken about needing to “improve in all areas” and strengthen collaboration with Hamilton ahead of the big 2026 regulation changes, which raises the stakes for getting the race‑engineer pairing right.
Fan and forum discussion angle
In forums and paddock chatter, the discussion tends to split into two viewpoints (based on how this kind of news is being framed in public coverage):
- “Promote from within” camp
- Likes the idea of Diella stepping up because he already knows Hamilton’s working style from Mercedes and from the second half of 2025 at Ferrari.
* Sees this as mirroring Charles Leclerc’s successful move when his performance engineer Bryan Bozzi eventually became his race engineer.
- “Fresh start” camp
- Argues that Hamilton might benefit from a completely new voice, not tied to the difficult 2025 season.
* Wonders if Ferrari might still look externally or reshuffle internally beyond the obvious Diella option.
So, who will it be?
- Confirmed fact: Riccardo Adami is out of the race‑engineer role and in a new Ferrari Academy position.
- Strongly rumoured but not official: Luca Diella is widely reported as the frontrunner to take over as Hamilton’s race engineer.
- Current status (January 2026): Ferrari say the appointment “will be announced in due course,” so until that announcement appears, no one can state with certainty who Hamilton’s 2026 Ferrari race engineer will be.
Bottom note: Information gathered from public reports and coverage of the 2025–2026 Ferrari restructuring and paddock discussions.