Lewis Hamilton

Martin Brundle 'surprised' by Lewis Hamilton change at Ferrari

Sheona Mountford Saturday 24 January 2026 10:27

An edited image of Lewis Hamilton furious and Martin Brundle concerned with a Sky microphone

Sky Sports F1 commentator and pundit Martin Brundle has admitted he was surprised by a recent Lewis Hamilton change at Ferrari.

F1 testing gets underway at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on January 26, the first of the sport's extensive pre-season tests due to the 2026 regulation changes.

Hamilton, however, will do so without his 2025 race engineer Riccardo Adami, after it was announced the Italian would be stepping down from his role and instead leading the Ferrari driver academy and Testing of Previous Cars program.

Adami and Hamilton's tense exchanges often made headlines last year, with the pair unable to overcome their teething issues in the champion's first Ferrari season.

A replacement has not been announced on Hamilton's side of the garage, and according to reports in the Italian media, the Brit may have to share Charles Leclerc's race engineer Bryan Bozzi for testing in Barcelona.

Brundle: 'Something needed to change'

During an appearance at the Autosport Awards, Martin Brundle spoke to Sky Sports about Adami's exit, and revealed he was surprised Adami was not dropped as Hamilton's race engineer sooner.

“Surprised it probably didn’t happen a bit earlier, judging by all of the things that were going on last year," Brundle said.

"But, Lewis needed to go there with a team, so at least they understood ‘Lewis speak’ when he’s inside the car and to interpret what Lewis really needs behind the wheel.

“I think he needed some help to flourish there [Ferrari] quickly. Let’s see who turns up as his engineer now. But, just listening to the radio and watching performance, although they obviously put a varnish on it through last season, something needed to change.”

F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Sky Sports Martin Brundle Riccardo Adami