Hamilton denies falling out with Ferrari engineer

May 30 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton says reports that he has fallen out with his race engineer are “BS”.

There have been clear signs of the seven time world champion’s on-radio frustration with Riccardo Adami ever since Hamilton, 40, made the switch from Mercedes to Ferrari.

Adami, who previously race-engineered Carlos Sainz and Sebastian Vettel at the Maranello based team, left Hamilton audibly exasperated last weekend in Monaco.

“There were areas where we just had radio problems,” the 40-year-old Briton admitted in Barcelona. “I didn’t get all the information I wanted.

“And that was it. There’s a lot of speculation but most of it is BS.”

Some analysts are calling for Ferrari to split up the pairing, but Hamilton insists he is actually very happy with Adami on the other end of his radio calls.

“We have a very good relationship,” he said. “He’s great to work with – he’s a great guy.

“We both work so hard, and sometimes we don’t get it perfect. We disagree sometimes, but that happens in every relationship. We’ll get through it together.

“We want to win the world championship together,” Hamilton, whose harmonious and long-term relationship with his engineer at Mercedes, Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington, was famed, added.

“We’re working hand in hand to build the team. All the speculation is just noise that we’re not paying attention to. As far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t affect the work we do.

“We’re constantly getting to know each other better, and we adapt to each other’s working styles. He’s worked with many different drivers, and we have no problems at all.”

However, the father of the driver Hamilton replaced at Ferrari, Carlos Sainz, says Hamilton’s races at the Maranello based team so far have been revealing.

“I thought Hamilton was more of a setup driver,” Sainz senior said, “but from what I’m hearing, he’s more like Charles Leclerc, who is a more intuitive driver.

“Cars aren’t autonomous – a driver has to drive them, and they have to have confidence. Only if you have confidence can you push the car to the limit.”