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Formula 1 Lewis Hamilton at the second F1 preseason test in 2026 Joe Portlock / Getty Images SAKHIR, Bahrain — Ferrari is yet to finalize a long-term replacement for Lewis Hamilton’s Formula 1 race engineer, with the Briton revealing he expects another change a few races into the 2026 season. Ferrari announced last month that Hamilton’s race engineer for 2025, Riccardo Adami, had been moved into a new role in the company. Advertisement The decision came after Hamilton had moments of friction with Adami over their team radio through Hamilton’s first season with Ferrari. In 2025, both Hamilton and his team downplayed the issues. When announcing Adami’s move in January, Ferrari said that Hamilton’s new race engineer would be named “in due course. ” But under a month until the 2026 begins on Mar. 8 in Australia, the Italian team is yet to announce a full-time replacement for this season. Through the first 2026 preseason test — held in Barcelona at the end of January — and for the second test in Bahrain that started on Wednesday, Hamilton has been working with Carlo Santi. He previously worked as a race engineer at Ferrari, with 2007 world champion Kimi Räikkönen. Speaking to reporters in Bahrain on Wednesday, Hamilton said he was “really grateful” to Adami for his work. He called moving the Italian engineer aside ahead of 2026 “a very difficult decision to make, ” before revealing that a final decision on Adami’s permanent replacement has not been taken. “It’s actually quite a difficult period, because it’s not long-term, the solution that we currently have, ” Hamilton said. “It’s only going to be a few races (that Santi will act as an interim race engineer). Early on into the season, it’s going to be switching up again, and I’m going to have to learn from someone and work with someone new. “So that’s detrimental to a season where you want to arrive with people that have done multiple seasons — that have been through thick and thin, and calm. “But it is the situation that I’m faced with. I’ll try to do the best I can. The team is trying to do the best they can to make it as seamless as possible. ” Santi worked with Räikkönen initially as a data engineer before becoming his race engineer in 2018. The Finn scored his 21st and final grand prix win that year, which also turned out to be his last season with Ferrari, as he was replaced by Charles Leclerc for 2019. Since then, Santi has worked at Ferrari’s factory on race weekends to support its race team virtually. Discussions are ongoing to finalize a long-term replacement for Hamilton on Ferrari’s pit wall, as the team continues to evaluate who will fill the race engineer position in collaboration with the seven-time world champion. Advertisement The race engineer serves as the primary point of contact for a driver throughout a race. Through his 12-year stint at Mercedes, Hamilton forged a close relationship with Peter Bonnington, even likening his race engineer to a brother after they won six world championships together. But Bonnington did not follow Hamilton to Ferrari in 2025, and now works with Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes, while also acting as the team’s head of race engineering. Hamilton enters the 2026 campaign looking to bounce back after a difficult first year with Ferrari, in which he failed to score a single podium finish all season for the first time in his F1 career. After getting a first extended run-out in the team’s new car through the Barcelona test, Hamilton was back behind the wheel of the SF-26 on Wednesday morning in Bahrain. He completed 52 laps before handing over testing duties to Leclerc. Hamilton traveled to Bahrain after attending Super Bowl LX on Sunday night, where Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots 29-13. Hamilton, who is a part owner of the Denver Broncos, said: “The actual game wasn’t great. I much prefer the Broncos’ stadium, and I was sad my team wasn’t there, but next year (hopefully it will be). ” He also spoke about the half time show performance by Bad Bunny, which Hamilton said gave him “goosebumps. ” “If you’re a music fan, and if you take a moment to understand all the small little bits of history that he included in the performance, it was so well thought out, ” said Hamilton. “It’s such a divided time. I saw the Grenadian flag, he had flags of all the other (countries) and parts of the United States, saying that we’re all one. I thought it was really great messaging, and I don’t think anybody I’ve ever watched and seen do the half time show has ever done that. ” Hamilton was also spotted sitting with Kim Kardashian at the game after it was rumored they could be dating. He declined to talk about the subject on Wednesday. “I don’t comment on those sorts of things, ” Hamilton said. “That’s private life. ” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Luke Smith is a Senior Writer covering Formula 1 for The Athletic. Luke has spent 10 years reporting on Formula 1 for outlets including Autosport, The New York Times and NBC Sports, and is also a published author. He is a graduate of University College London. Follow Luke on Twitter @Luke Smith F1