Lewis Hamilton Reflects On Peter Bonnington Relationship Ahead Of Ferrari Move

Lewis Hamilton discusses his emotional departure from longtime race engineer Peter Bonnington as he prepares to join Ferrari.

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

Lewis Hamilton has spoken out regarding the upcoming departure from his longtime race engineer, Peter Bonnington, known as 'Bono'. As Hamilton sets his sights on a new chapter with Ferrari in 2025, Bonnington has confirmed that he will not be following the seven-time champion to Maranello and has taken a promotion at Mercedes to head of race engineering.

Whilst speaking to Sky Sports F1 ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, Hamilton commented:

"I would have loved to have continued with Bono, of course.

"We have a great relationship and you heard it at Silverstone, he's like a brother. But I'm really, really happy for him. For me, I think it's just about people doing whatever's best for you.

"Packing up and leaving, him and his partner, it impacts both of them, so they had to do whatever is right for him.

"I knew it would be an unlikely scenario that he would go with me because it's such a drastic change for his life. But I'm really happy that the team have acknowledged and made changes, so he can grow more.

"I think he'll now be able to show them even more of the great things he can do. But either way, we're going to be family forever. We've spoken about it and we just want to make sure we finish on a high."

Throughout their tenure, Bonnington has played a crucial role in Hamilton's career, notably since joining forces in 2013 after Bonnington's stint with Michael Schumacher. The iconic "it's hammer time Lewis" radio call has become loved by fans.

"When I joined this team, I just came in and Bono was the head engineer at the time," said Hamilton.

"It's got to be someone you get on with, it's got to be someone you are able to build a relationship with and trust.

"The next one, that's going to be a discovery process. I'll know early on whether it's going to work or not. But I think it's just about communicating."

On the racing front, Hamilton's current season with Mercedes shows promise, particularly after ending a two-and-a-half-year winless streak with victories at the British and Belgian Grand Prix. However, with a significant points gap in both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships, Hamilton is focused on narrowing the margins.

"When we started off the season, I know so many of us in the team didn't expect…we didn't know when we would get back to top performance and be fighting at the front, we thought it was such a long shot.

"But everyone back at the factory just worked so hard and we now know what the car needs and we've got it in a much happier place. And to drive it, the car is much more of a racing car now and I'm generally really enjoying driving it. So I think it's reflecting that."