Former F1 and IndyCar driver Robert Doornbos has claimed that Lewis Hamilton’s relationship with Ferrari race engineer Riccardo Adami lacks chemistry.
Although many had expected him to hang up his gloves as a Mercedes driver, the seven-time world champion made a blockbuster switch to join Ferrari in 2025 following a very successful 12-year stint with the Silver Arrows.
Despite the pre-season hype, Hamilton’s first season at Ferrari has been far from ideal so far. While he put the SF-25 on Sprint pole and stormed to Sprint victory in China, the 40-year-old has been unable to score a single podium in the Grand Prix format.
After 20 rounds, Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc holds a definitive lead over Hamilton in both Grand Prix qualifying and race head-to-head metrics. The Brit sits sixth in the drivers’ standings with 146 points, behind the Monégasque in fifth with 210 points.
Former driver gives his verdict on Hamilton-Adami partnership
Lewis Hamilton has been on a steep learning curve at Ferrari, adapting to a new car and team culture after over a decade at Mercedes.
Even though the difficult SF-25 has compounded the transition period, Robert Doornbos argued that Hamilton’s rocky relationship with his Ferrari race engineer Riccardo Adami has contributed to his relatively underwhelming performance thus far. He highlighted the lack of chemistry and inefficient communication that have plagued this new partnership throughout the 2025 F1 season.
“I think because there is just no chemistry between the engineer and the driver,” Doornbos remarked during The Pit Talk Podcast.
“The communication between Lewis [Hamilton] and Ricky [Adami], his engineer, it just doesn’t feel like they’re switched on to each other.”
Hamilton’s Mexico City penalty serves as evidence
Furthermore, Robert Doornbos claimed that the handling of Lewis Hamilton’s penalty during the Mexico City GP demonstrated how the seven-time world champion and Riccardo Adami don’t gel as an effective driver-engineer duo.
The stewards hit Hamilton with a 10-second penalty at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage during an intense battle with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
With Charles Leclerc and Verstappen avoiding penalties for their Lap 1 excursions, the FIA’s decision to only penalise Hamilton for going wide and retaining the position generated a lot of controversy in the aftermath of the race.
Many pundits subsequently argued that Ferrari could’ve communicated better and instructed the Brit to close the gap behind him after he had rejoined the track in order to potentially avoid the penalty.
Referring to the fiasco in Mexico City and Ferrari’s failure to capitalise on Hamilton’s superb race start, Doornbos emphasised how essential it is to maximise every opportunity if the historic Italian team wishes to contend for wins and championships in this cut-throat sport.
“It’s Ricky saying, ‘We’ve got a 10-second [penalty] because of this and this situation.’ Lewis said, ‘Yeah, but it was very difficult to stay on.’ We know Lewis. I don’t think they’re really on it,” the Dutch former racing driver continued.
“If you want to be fighting for wins, championships, and podiums, you have to take every opportunity you can to maximise it.”
Is there a pattern?
Mexico City was certainly not the only race which saw tensions rise between Lewis Hamilton and Riccardo Adami.
The Brit’s struggles to be on the same page with his new race engineer became apparent during the Australian GP, as some of their radio exchanges made it into the TV broadcast. Early on, Hamilton asked Adami in a polite but curt manner to leave him to it when the Italian repeatedly instructed him to use the K1 button for overtaking.
The Monaco GP brought more awkward-sounding radio exchanges between Hamilton and Adami to public attention, despite Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur dismissing any suggestion of friction between the two.
Hamilton took the chequered flag in P5 and received brief instructions from Adami on the cool-down lap. He proceeded to thank the team after the tough weekend but seemingly received no further response. Radio silence followed even when the Ferrari driver asked if his engineer was upset with him.
As a result, many have drawn comparisons between the harmonious working relationship Hamilton had with his Mercedes race engineer Pete Bonnington and his relatively shaky partnership with Adami at Ferrari.
The 51-year-old, who previously worked with the likes of Carlos Sainz and four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, still faces a difficult balancing exercise while he and Hamilton get up to speed with each other’s style of working with four more rounds to go in the 2025 F1 season.
Hence, it remains to be seen whether Ferrari opt to retain Adami or appoint a new race engineer for the seven-time world champion in 2026.
