Lewis Hamilton has admitted he “would have loved to continue” working with his race engineer Peter Bonnington at Ferrari.
Bonnington, known as ‘Bono,’ has been promoted to head of race engineering at Mercedes and will not be joining Hamilton at Ferrari next season.
The 49-year-old will remain Hamilton’s race engineer for the final 10 races of this season before transitioning to work with either George Russell or Hamilton’s replacement, expected to be Andrea Kimi Antonelli, next year.
“I knew it was unlikely that he would come with me, given how much it would change his life. But I’m really happy that the team has recognized his talent and provided him with opportunities to grow,” Hamilton said. “He’ll be able to show even more of what he can do. Regardless, we’ll always be like family. We’ve talked about it, and we just want to end on a high note.”
Bonnington, who was Michael Schumacher’s race engineer at Mercedes for 18 months, became the voice in Hamilton’s ear when he joined the Silver Arrows in 2013. He is well known for his “it’s hammer time, Lewis” radio message, signaling Hamilton to push hard before a pit stop.
“When I joined this team, Bono was the head engineer,” Hamilton reflected. “It’s crucial to have someone you can connect with, build trust, and form a strong relationship with. The next one will be a discovery process. I’ll know early on if it’s going to work, but it’s all about communication.”
Hamilton: We didn’t expect to be fighting at the front
Hamilton inherited victory at the Belgian Grand Prix after his Mercedes teammate George Russell was disqualified for having an underweight car.
The seven-time world champion also secured a win at Silverstone, where his race engineer Bonnington joined him on the podium, marking the end of his two-and-a-half-year winless streak.
Currently, Hamilton sits sixth in the Drivers’ Championship, trailing Max Verstappen by 127 points, while Mercedes is 142 points behind Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship.
Hamilton, who has yet to win at Zandvoort since its return to the F1 calendar in 2021, aims to get closer to the top three.
“When we started the season, many of us on the team didn’t expect to be competing at the front again so soon; we thought it was a long shot,” he said.
“But everyone at the factory worked incredibly hard, and now we understand what the car needs. We’ve got it in a much better place, and driving it feels like handling a true racing car again. I’m really enjoying it, and I think that shows in our performance.”
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