Ferrari urged to 'hold a conversation' with 'different animal' Hamilton

Riccardo Adami has been urged to "hold a conversation" with Lewis Hamilton ahead of this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix to ensure they avoid the radio communication issues that blighted the seven-time F1 champion's debut with Ferrari.

After years of a hand-in-glove working relationship with Pete Bonnington at Mercedes, Hamilton's switch to Ferrari has naturally resulted in a change of race engineer, with Adami now the voice in his ear over a grand prix weekend.

The discussions between Hamilton and Adami during a treacherous Australian Grand Prix made for uncomfortable listening on occasion. It was clear that the latter has a lot to learn about what information to give the British driver and when.

By the end of a difficult Sunday at Melbourne's Albert Park, Hamilton at least brought his Ferrari home in 10th for a point, but with plenty to work on ahead of the next round at Shanghai International Circuit on Sunday, notably, his relationship with Adami.

Former F1 driver Karun Chandhok feels Hamilton and Adami "need a bit more time to understand just how much communication Lewis wants, and what type of communication."

In his role as a Sky Sports F1 pundit, Chandhok added: "There were a number of times where he [Hamilton] said, 'Tell me something', and then they would give him more information. Then it was like, 'Oh, that's too much. Stop telling me. Leave it to me.'

"So they just need to build that bond. Race drivers and their engineers will spend more time together than they will with their partners through the season, but they're still at round one.

"They've just got to find their feet and understand, and maybe have a conversation between now and China. I'll be interested to listen to the radio in China to see if it is different.

"But they just need to have a conversation, and [Hamilton to] say, 'Okay, I need to know this, this and this. I don't need you to hold my hand for ABC.'"

Mercedes Hamilton 2013 radio

Chandhok reiterated the point that it is still early days for the duo, and just as Hamilton had his ways of working with Bonnington, so Adami will have developed a communication style with Carlos Sainz over their three years together.

Nevertheless, Chandhok feels it is Adami who needs to adapt more quickly to the way Hamilton wants to work rather than the other way around.

"You've just got to keep it in perspective that they're figuring out how to communicate," assessed Chandhok.

"Riccardo Adami has probably communicated that way with Carlos Sainz for the last three years, so he's just carrying on doing what he feels is natural as an engineer on the pit wall.

"But he's dealing with a different animal now, and Lewis needs a different type of communication."

Underlining it will take time, though, he added: "I'm sure if we rewind, and had access to the 2013 radio at Mercedes, Lewis and Bono wouldn't have been flowing as they were a couple of years later. So they just need to build that relationship."