Hamilton addresses engineer tension with Verstappen ‘abuse’ of…read more
Lewis Hamilton has addressed claims of tension between him and his new race engineer, Riccardo Adami, following their first race together at the Australian Grand Prix. The race, which was held in challenging, wet conditions, marked Hamilton’s debut for Ferrari, and despite starting from eighth on the grid, he struggled to make progress during the event.
During the race, several of Hamilton’s radio communications with his engineer were aired live, drawing attention from both fans and pundits. After the race, former F1 driver Martin Brundle criticized Hamilton’s tone with his engineer, suggesting that the interaction appeared tense. In response, Hamilton denied that there were any issues between him and Adami, explaining that it was simply a matter of the two getting to know each other.
Hamilton emphasized that he was polite throughout the radio exchanges and was simply trying to focus on his performance during a difficult race. He explained, “It was literally just a back-and-forth. I was very polite in how I suggested it. I said ‘leave it to me, please’. I wasn’t saying ‘F-you,’ I wasn’t swearing.” According to Hamilton, he was under considerable stress trying to manage the car in difficult conditions and needed to concentrate on specific aspects of the race. He acknowledged that as a new pairing, he and Adami are still learning how to communicate effectively.
He also pointed out that radio exchanges between drivers and their engineers are often scrutinized, but in many cases, the conversations can be more heated than his own. Hamilton drew a comparison to Max Verstappen’s interactions with his engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, which have often been much more intense. Hamilton noted that Verstappen, who has won multiple championships, has regularly been more vocal in his criticism of his engineer, but these exchanges are rarely as heavily discussed in the media. “Go and listen to the radio calls with others and their engineers – it’s far worse,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton reassured fans that there was no underlying tension with Adami, explaining that after the race, they had a constructive conversation about their communication style. “Afterwards, I’m like, ‘Hey bro, I don’t need that bit of information. But if you want to give me this, this is the place I like to do it,’” he explained. “This is how I’m feeling in the car, and at these points, this is when I do and don’t need the information.” He concluded that the exchange was nothing more than a part of their learning process, with both sides moving forward posi
tively.
