The rebirth of Sir Lewis Hamilton
In Suzuka there was a small step back, but it is undeniable how Lewis Hamilton has appeared in this first glimpse of the 2026 World Championship in a state of form not even remotely comparable to that shown last season. Thanks to a Ferrari decidedly more competitive that allows him to fight at a high level but, who knows, perhaps also to the renewal he himself requested during the winter, which led him to reset his entourage of closest collaborators: thus, in addition to his press officer and his manager, the seven-time world champion also had a new track engineer, moving to the care of the expert Carlo Santi – awaiting the exchange with the newcomer from McLaren, Cedric Michel-Grosjean – with the former Riccardo Adami moved instead to lead the Ferrari Driver Academy.
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The story of Jock Clear
A change also commented on by the former Ferrari engineer, Jock Clear, who admitted how frustration reigned in the team during the 2025 championship in a long interview granted to the portal Ignition Casino. “I know that Riccardo Adami – he explains – was as frustrated as anyone else last year. It was a difficult year for Ferrari, a difficult year for Lewis. Perhaps the fact of starting from scratch this time gave him a new perspective. Much also depends, however, on the car and the fact that he is enjoying a car with which he can gain confidence. Lewis found himself more comfortable and this made things easier for the team in general and not just for his track engineer. Of course, he would like to be on the heels of Mercedes, and perhaps in the next rounds the situation will become a bit tighter and he will be able to put up a fight”.
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“A good relationship between the driver and his engineer is of fundamental importance – he added Clear, who in the past spoke on the radio to Jacques Villeneuve, Rubens Barrichello and Nico Rosberg, working closely with Michael Schumacher and Hamilton himself as their performance engineer – not only from a technical point of view. The track engineer in fact takes care of the engineering work by dealing with the development of the car, but on race weekends he must somehow balance high-level engineering expertise with a role almost like a caddy for a golfer (he is the personal assistant who carries the clubs from hole to hole, ed.). You have to instill confidence in the driver about what is happening, making him feel like he has everything under control, providing him with the information he needs without overwhelming him with superfluous things. In F1 it is a difficult balance to achieve”.
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