Hamilton says further race engineer change will be 'detrimental' to him

Feb 11 - Lewis Hamilton will have a second change of race engineer early in the Formula One season and he said on Wednesday it would be detrimental to his second year at Ferrari.

Ferrari announced last month that they had moved the seven-times world champion's previous race engineer Riccardo Adami to a different role.

Adami has been replaced by Carlo Santi, who previously worked with 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen, for pre-season testing in Spain and Bahrain but that is not a permanent move.

Hamilton told reporters on the first day of testing in Bahrain on Wednesday that a permanent replacement would be appointed later in the year, the timing suggesting the individual could be from another team and subject to "gardening leave".

"It's not long term, the solution that I currently have. It's only going to be a few races," the Briton said. "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 me too."

"It's a season where you want to arrive with people that have done multiple seasons, that have been through thick and thin," he added. "But it is the situation that I'm faced with and I'll try and do the best I can. The team is trying to do the best they can to help make it as seamless as possible."

Ferrari finished fourth overall last year while Hamilton had a tough year, failing to stand on the podium for the first time in his stellar career.

Formula One is starting a new engine era with major chassis rule changes providing plenty of challenges for the drivers to get on top of. The season starts in Australia on March 8. REUTERS