Lewis Hamilton has been left unhappy with Ferrari’s mismanagement as he is now forced to start the 2026 F1 season with his temporary race engineer Carlo Santi for at least the first race of the year in Australia. It has been reported that the Briton would be opposed to switching race engineers mid-season as Ferrari look for a quick solution.

Ferrari removed Riccardo Adami from his role as Hamilton’s race engineer after just one season together as concerns grew over the pair’s working relationship. The team then hired Carlo Santi on an interim basis to work with the 7x world champion through the pre-season testing before making a permanent appointment, who is rumored to be Cedric Michel-Grosjean.

However, a new report coming out from SoyMotor has suggested that Lewis Hamilton is set to begin the new season with Carlo Santi continuing as his race engineer for at least the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, with the Italian’s interim stint potentially even extending beyond Melbourne.

The arrival of a new race engineer is likely later in the season. However, it has also been reported that Hamilton is not happy with the idea of switching race engineers mid-season.

Previously, Lewis Hamilton had shed light on how difficult it is for him to build a relationship from scratch with a new race engineer after Riccardo Adami was removed from this role. Now, it seems that the 41-year-old will have to adjust to working with Carlo Santi for a little while longer, before tearing it all up and starting again with another new name.

Adjusting into a new environment at Maranello has already proved difficult for the veteran, as was showcased by his performance during the 2025 F1 season. This added difficulty with finding a new race engineer is sure to be a hinderance as Hamilton prepares for his second year with the Scuderia.

Lewis Hamilton had previously admitted interim engineer situation was “detrimental”

Speaking during the first 2026 Bahrain Pre-Season Test, Lewis Hamilton had admitted that the interim race engineer solution provided to him by Ferrari was “detrimental” to him. The driver explained that he would ideally like to go into a new season with someone he already has a relationship with, especially amid the new regulations era.

Speaking to media in Bahrain earlier this month, Hamilton said [via Formula1.com]:

“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,” he added.

Lewis Hamilton then concluded by saying that both he and the team is doing the best they can to make the situation as smooth as possible.

Most reports have suggested that ex-McLaren man Cedric Michel-Grosjean is the one on Ferrari’s radar for the role of Hamilton’s race engineer. However, a report by GPBlog has also claimed that Carlo Santi could remain in the position on a permanent basis if the pair continue to build on the strong chemistry they have reportedly shown so far.