Hamilton’s Unconventional Ferrari Engineer Setup Delivers Breakthrough Results

Lewis Hamilton appears to have finally found his footing at Ferrari, with an unusual engineering arrangement that drew criticism now producing positive results.
The seven-time champion made the switch to Maranello for 2025, ending a 12-year partnership with Mercedes after a hugely successful stint with the Silver Arrows.
Unlike some champions before him, Hamilton chose not to bring his trusted Mercedes race engineer Peter Bonnington, known as Bono, along for the move.
Bono instead joined Hamilton’s replacement at Mercedes, Kimi Antonelli, and that partnership has flourished with the young Italian currently leading the drivers’ championship by 43 points.
At Ferrari, Hamilton initially worked alongside race engineer Riccardo Adami, but multiple tense team radio exchanges prompted team principal Fred Vasseur to make a change ahead of 2026.
When news of Adami’s departure from Hamilton’s side of the garage emerged, many within the paddock welcomed the 41-year-old’s opportunity to make a fresh start in the new regulations cycle.
The timing was far from ideal, however, with Ferrari admitting they had not yet secured a full-time replacement for Hamilton’s race engineer just weeks before pre-season testing began.
The Scuderia eventually confirmed that Carlo Santi, formerly Kimi Raikkonen’s race engineer, would step into the role on an interim basis while rumours circulated about a potential longer-term solution.
Performance engineer Cedric Michel-Grosjean, who left McLaren last December, was widely described in the media as being Ferrari-bound and linked to a permanent role alongside Hamilton.
Italian media have since reported that Ferrari are in no rush to promote Michel-Grosjean into a full race engineer position, with the dual setup of both Santi and Michel-Grosjean supporting Hamilton reportedly working well.
The arrangement drew criticism during pre-season testing and across the opening rounds of the 2026 season, with many questioning the wisdom of such an unconventional approach.
However, the setup appears to be yielding results, with Hamilton claiming his best finish with Ferrari in a full-time race at the Canadian Grand Prix last weekend.
Hamilton secured second place at the 68-lap race in Montreal with Santi guiding him on the radio, earning his second podium of the season after just five rounds.
La Gazzetta dello Sport reported Hamilton’s praise for Santi following the result, quoting the champion as saying: “He’s absolutely fantastic, I really enjoy working with him.”
The Italian publication also quoted Hamilton on the contribution of Michel-Grosjean, with the champion stating: “He helped me a lot to get more performance out of the car. We made some changes to the setup, and I was able to attack all the corners as I wanted.”
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