Lewis Hamilton to get new Ferrari race engineer for upcoming F1 season

MARANELLO, Jan 15 — Ferrari has moved Riccardo Adami to a new role, confirming Lewis Hamilton will have a different race engineer for the upcoming Formula One season.

The team announced on Friday that Adami, Hamilton's engineer last year, will now manage the Driver Academy and testing of previous cars.

Hamilton's new race engineer will be announced in due course, Ferrari stated.

Hamilton joined Ferrari from Mercedes last season, which ended without a win for the team.

Reports of a strained relationship between Hamilton and Adami surfaced after terse radio exchanges, starting at the opening race in Australia.

"Do we have disagreements? Yes, like everyone does in relationships. But we work through them. We are both in it together," Hamilton said last May, dismissing the reports as "just noise."

The awkward radio communications continued throughout the season, which ended in December.

Hamilton failed to secure a podium finish all year, a career low, unlike his teammate Charles Leclerc.

Adami had previously worked with retired champion Sebastian Vettel and Spaniard Carlos Sainz at Ferrari.

He has been with the Maranello-based team for 11 years.

Ferrari will hold a livery launch next week ahead of pre-season testing in Barcelona from January 26-30.

The 24-race season begins in Australia on March 8, as the sport enters a new engine era with a major technical rules shakeup.