Lewis Hamilton ‘splits with manager’ – just four weeks before 2026 F1 season

The seven-time F1 world champion endured a difficult debut campaign with Ferrari and a change has been made

Lewis Hamilton has reportedly split with manager Marc Hynes, just four weeks before the 2026 F1 season begins in Australia.

Hamilton rehired Hynes at the start of last year, with the British executive previously a close confidante of the seven-time world champion as chief executive of Project 44, Hamilton’s management company, from 2015-2021.

Hynes accompanied the 41-year-old driver, who endured a disappointing, podium-less debut campaign at Ferrari, at virtually all of last year’s 24 grands prix to oversee the Briton’s logistical racing matters.

However, Hynes is now said to have joined F1’s newest team, American outfit Cadillac, for the upcoming season and, therefore, will not be working closely with Hamilton for the 2026 campaign.

Ferrari refused to comment when approached by The Independent, while Cadillac have also been contacted for a statement.

Hynes has known Hamilton since his time in junior formula, with Hynes a former British F3 champion. Previous splits between the pair have been on amicable terms and this one is no different, says a report in the Daily Mail.

The news follows another recent split for Hamilton, with the Briton parting ways with race engineer Riccardo Adami last month after a fraught partnership.

Lewis Hamilton failed to register a podium in his debut season for Ferrari (Getty)

McLaren’s Cedric Michel-Grosjean, formerly Oscar Piastri’s performance engineer, is believed to be the frontrunner to replace Adami, while Hamilton’s own performance engineer Luca Diella is another option. An appointment is expected by the first race in Melbourne on 8 March.

Hamilton will, however, retain the services of performance coach Angela Cullen, who returned to his side last year after two seasons away.

The British driver labelled his 2025 campaign the “worst season ever” after struggling to maximise performance and results in a capricious Ferrari car, which failed to win a race.

Marc Hynes (right) is a close confidante of Hamilton (Getty)

Hamilton finished sixth in the drivers’ championship, 86 points behind teammate Charles Leclerc and a whopping 267 points off world champion Lando Norris.

Yet Hamilton has been buoyed by early testing of Ferrari’s 2026 car, the SF-26. Encouragingly, Hamilton set the fastest time of last week’s private pre-season test in Barcelona, ahead of two official tests in Bahrain (11-13 February and 18-20 February).

“Everyone is positive and incredibly enthusiastic, but we’re under no illusions,” Hamilton said after the Barcelona test. “We know we’ve got work to do.

Angela Cullen will continue as Hamilton’s performance coach (Getty)

“We don’t know where we are, but I think it’s a solid first week and we can really build from here. There may be some big leaps that we are going to need to take; development is going to be key.

“Just really making sure we leave no stone unturned and we are just really clear and concise with our communications and the decisions we take.

“It’s going to take all of us to be at our best, and I’m seeing that everyone is coming with new energy this year, which is great.”

The 2026 season starts with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on 8 March.