Lewis Hamilton’s new race engineer, Cedric Grosjean, has arrived at the Australian Grand Prix but won’t be joining him on the pit wall just yet.
Ferrari announced during the off-season that Riccardo Adami would no longer be Hamilton’s race engineer after a challenging 2025 season. Adami has since moved into a role with Ferrari’s driver academy.
While there hasn’t been an official statement from Ferrari at this stage, it’s widely expected that Grosjean will step in to replace Adami. The Frenchman previously worked as a performance engineer for Oscar Piastri during his time at McLaren.
Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer will only be observing in Australia
Grosjean has just joined Ferrari after completing his gardening leave from McLaren. During winter testing, Hamilton worked alongside Carlo Santi, who previously served as Kimi Raikkonen’s race engineer.
Formula1.it reports that Santi will continue in the role for the first three races in Australia, China and Japan. Grosjean is expected to observe during this period to get up to speed with the team’s processes.
This approach also allows him time to build relationships with Ferrari’s trackside staff before stepping into the full-time role. However, there is a chance that he may not start until May if schedule disruptions persist.
Lewis Hamilton discusses timing of Ferrari engineer switch
During pre-season testing, Hamilton noted that the interim arrangement with Santi would be short-lived, lasting just “a few races.” He mentioned that drivers with long-standing relationships with their engineers are likely to have an edge this season.
That leaves the 41-year-old facing a challenge. However, Ferrari’s willingness to wait months for Grosjean suggests they see something special in him.
Piastri has made significant strides from 2023 to 2025, and much of that progress is credited to McLaren’s top-tier engineering team.
“They’re so in sync with each other and on one wavelength,” said Jolyon Palmer on the Chequered Flag Podcast. “You’ve got Max, who always works so well with GP. Lewis and Bono are obviously such a famous pairing as well.”
Hamilton had built a strong working relationship with Peter Bonnington over his 12 years at Mercedes, but since joining Ferrari, he’s already been paired with three different race engineers in just over a year.
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