After months of headlines about spiky radio messages and visible frustration, Ferrari has publicly rejected the idea that its relationship with Lewis Hamilton is broken.

Head of track engineering Matteo Togninalli stressed that the bond being built with the seven-time champion is “extremely positive,” arguing that the media picture is far harsher than reality inside Maranello.

Togninalli acknowledged that both sides underestimated how big a leap it would be for Hamilton to leave Mercedes after more than a decade and embed himself in a new culture and working language at Ferrari. He framed the tension heard on the radio as a byproduct of expectations and pressure rather than personal conflict, noting that similarly curt exchanges are common even in title-winning operations.

Why the Hamilton-Ferrari Project Is Taking Time

On track, Hamilton’s first year in red has been defined by inconsistency rather than outright collapse. Ferrari ended 2025 without a race win, slumping to fourth in the constructors’ standings and finishing well adrift of champion McLaren, with Charles Leclerc and Hamilton only fifth and sixth in the drivers’ table.

Togninalli pointed to qualifying as Ferrari’s main weakness, highlighting how sensitive this year’s Pirelli tyres are on a single lap and how even a two-tenth swing in preparation can mean the difference between the front row and the midfield. He cited messy sessions in places like Las Vegas and Monaco, where small errors or traffic ruined laps, as examples of how quickly Hamilton’s weekends could unravel despite generally respectable race pace.

Radio Drama, Perception, and the Road Ahead

Hamilton has already had to publicly dismiss talk of a “rift” with race engineer Riccardo Adami, pushing back on claims that their terse exchanges signal a broken relationship. Episodes in Miami, Monaco, and Abu Dhabi, where the Briton questioned instructions or demanded clearer information, became viral clips and fuelled debate over whether Ferrari’s communication style fit his needs.

Ferrari’s stance is that adaptation and frustration, not distrust, are driving that tone, and that a stronger working rhythm has steadily developed through the season. With a major rules reset coming for 2026 and development already shifted toward the next car, the team believes time and a more competitive platform will do more to ease the noise around Hamilton than any press statement ever could.