F1 News: Lewis Hamilton Opens Up On Close Relationship With 'Bono' And His 'Hammer Time' Message

Saajan Jogia | Dec 9, 2024

2024 British Grand Prix, Sunday - Jiri Krenek - Peter Bonnington and Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes Press Image

Lewis Hamilton shared details about his close relationship with his race engineer Peter Bonnington, who he affectionately calls Bono, and offered insight into the iconic radio message "It's hammer time," which Bono used to signal Hamilton to push during races at full throttle. Ahead of his move to Ferrari next year, the seven-time world champion revealed how Bono had become his best friend after previously working with F1 legend Michael Schumacher.

Hamilton remained in the spotlight during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, considering this was his last race with Mercedes. The iconic 12-season partnership, the longest between a team and driver in the history of Formula 1, was coming to an end after winning eight Constructors' Championships and six Drivers' Championships.

The Briton started the season finale in P16 with hard Pirellis and raced his way through to P4, making up several positions in the second stint after his W15 was switched to medium tires. During a thrilling sequence of overtakes, Hamilton received the famous call of "hammer time" from Bono.

As a result, he closed in on the leading cars with an impressive pace of nearly one second per lap. In the final moments of the race, he managed to overtake his teammate George Russell but fell short of a podium finish by about six seconds to his 2025 teammate, Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton reflected that it was the last time he heard the popular message from Bono, as his race engineer will not be joining him at Maranello. Speaking about the story behind the radio call, the future Ferrari driver shared that he had requested Bono to use the phrase "hammer time" during their first season together at Mercedes in 2013. He said:

"I noticed that as well, when he told me, I was like: 'I can't even remember the last time he told me hammer-time.'

"I remember when I told Bono to say hammer-time back in our first year together, I was like: 'don't tell me to go faster, tell me it's hammer-time.'"

Hamilton acknowledged the F1 journey with Bono had many ups and downs but stressed that they became close friends. Though their professional relationship is coming to an end, Hamilton highlighted the unwavering support Bono provided, stating that he never once faltered and was always by his side every single time. He added:

"What a roller-coaster ride its been with Bono, he's been one of my closest friends for many years and it is something I didn't expect to have because he worked with Michael Schumacher, other great drivers.

"But he stood by me and for an engineer to stick with someone as frustrating and as painful as it can sometimes be, he stood by me every single day without failing."