Lewis Hamilton says he is enjoying working with Ferrari’s new race engineer Carlo Santi after the team made a change over the winter.
The seven-time World Champion endured a challenging first season at Ferrari, with radio exchanges between Hamilton and former engineer Riccardo Adami often drawing attention.
Adami, who previously worked with former Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, was on the other end of the radio throughout Hamilton’s debut campaign with the team.
But the pair struggled to build a consistent rhythm, their conversations over team radio regularly reflected that, with communication issues surfacing at several races across the year.
During the off-season, Ferrari moved Adami into a role within its academy programme, with Santi stepping in to work with Hamilton on the pit wall, initially on an interim basis.
The switch has made an immediate difference.
After claiming his first P2 with Ferrari in Canada, Hamilton praised the work Santi and the wider team had done behind the scenes.
“I chose a different set-up this weekend through just ciphering through the data, working really well with my engineer,” he said. “He’s absolutely awesome and I’m really loving working with him.
“And my number two did a fantastic job this weekend and helped me really pull more performance out of the car, getting into a much sweeter place.”
Hamilton added, “And I was able to attack all the corners finally. And as I said, there’s a lot of changes that I’ve had to ask for, and Fred [Vasseur]’s been super supportive and again also moving mountains in order to make me comfortable.
“And it’s finally starting to show in my performance. So, thank you to the team.”
Hamilton on the early communication issues
Hamilton admitted earlier in the year that Ferrari’s engineering reshuffle was not ideal.
At the time, he suggested the temporary nature of the arrangement could create another adjustment period during a crucial stage of the season.
“Firstly, with Riccardo it was a pretty difficult decision to make, and I’m really, really grateful for all the effort he put in last year, and his patience – it was a difficult year for us all,” Hamilton explained.
“It’s actually quite a difficult era, because it’s not long-term, the solution that I currently have – it’s only a few races, and so early on into the season it’s going to all be switching up again and I’ll have to learn to work with someone new.
“So that’s detrimental for me too, [going into] a season where you want to arrive with people that have done multiple seasons, that have been through thick and thin, and I can’t.
“But it is the situation that I’m faced with, and I’ll try and do the best that I can.
“The team is trying to do the best they can to make it as seamless as possible.”
Vasseur happy about the performance at the Canadian GP
Despite those concerns, the early signs have been positive.
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur also praised Hamilton’s drive in Canada and highlighted his confidence behind the wheel across the weekend.
“It was a very strong performance,” he said.
“Conditions [were] mega difficult. If you were losing power, you were struggling to recover and to come back, and he was able to push from the beginning to the end.
“He was in confidence and did a very strong, strong race and strong weekend overall.
“We know what we are doing, we know that we have a clear target, a clear goal. We are pushing together as a team. Then you can write whatever you want.”
Hamilton’s comments suggest Ferrari’s winter change is already paying off, with the Briton beginning to feel more comfortable in the car and more connected with the team around him.
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