Lewis Hamilton has criticised a Ferrari decision that could prove to be detrimental to his season.
Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Hamilton made a high-profile transfer from Mercedes to Ferrari in what was described as a dream link-up.
However, it was a tough first season in Ferrari Red for Hamilton as he struggled to adapt to the problematic SF-25.
In the end, the Brit failed to score a podium finish and ended the season 86 points behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
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Ahead of 2026, it was confirmed that Hamilton's race engineer, Riccardo Adami, had moved to another role within the team.
But with the new campaign less than a month away, Ferrari are yet to confirm a new race engineer for Hamilton.
Speaking this week in Bahrain, Hamilton stated that the failure to give him a new engineer could impact his season.
He said: "It's actually quite a difficult period because it's not long-term, the solution that we currently have, it's only going to be a few races.
"So, early on into the season, it's going to be switching up again, and I'll have to learn to work with someone new, so that's detrimental to a season where you want to arrive with people that have done multiple seasons, have been through thick and thin and are calm."
Hamilton continued: "But it is the situation that I'm faced with and I'll try to do the best that I can. The team is trying to do the best they can to make it as seamless as possible."
When speaking about Adami specifically, Hamilton said: "With Riccardo, it was obviously a very difficult decision to make. I'm really, really grateful for all the effort he put in last year and his patience in what was a difficult year for us all."
During the first day of testing in Bahrain, Hamilton clocked a fastest time of 1:36.433, which put him in seventh place.
Meanwhile, teammate Leclerc was third with a best effort of 1:35.190. The fastest time of the day was set by Lando Norris, who did a 1:34.669.
Topics: Lewis Hamilton, Formula 1, Ferrari
Marcus Chan