F1 News
'Bono' points at Hamilton's strength: 'No other guy has that'
Not only Lewis Hamilton will now join Ferrari in the 2025 season after spending more than a decade at Mercedes, but another major change will happen once he sits in the Scuderia's car: In his ear, it will no longer be Peter Bonnington, also known as 'Bono', talking to him. The race engineer looked back on the time he spent with the seven-time world champion, and what makes him stand out in terms of qualities on the grid.
Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes' time together ended at the Abu Dhabi GP in 2024, after the Briton first joined the team ahead of the 2013 season. Immediately in Year 1 at the Germans, Hamilton was teamed up with 'Bono' as well. During their last weekend together, after starting from P16 on the grid, he finished in fourth place. According to Bonnington, that performance could show the best of Hamilton.
"Lewis, he's a Sunday man. Every Sunday he brings his 'A game'. That's what we saw [in Abu Dhabi]. That's going to be the thing that I'm going to miss most about it, you know that when the lights go out you are going to get 100 percent out of the guy. He gives it his all every single race. That is his most endearing quality, the guy's got racecraft of no other," the race engineer explained to Viaplay.
The 2024 season has been another challenging one, especially compared to the previous successes they achieved together. "We've had some really low downs but the highs, they outweigh it by a hundred times. Last race of the season we all tend to come back here and just congregate and just reflect on what we've done. For Lewis, as you say, end of an era, end of this chapter with him," 'Bono' continued.
Still, Hamilton could get back to winning ways in 2024 for the first time since the 2021 Saudi Arabia GP. The Briton could win at Silverstone and then at Spa-Francorchamps as well. "I've loved every minute, even the tough times because what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. We've bounced back from some pretty bad stuff but I'm just so grateful to have been part of his life and part of his achievement."
'Bono' concluded: "I can't believe I'm still here doing it. He's stuck with me this long, so I must be doing something right. Drivers tend to not have coaches but we feel that engineers are actually the driver coach. We're there to work them through all the engineering side of stuff but also the psychological stuff and just make sure we all stay together and keep it on the right path."
Race engineers at Ferrari?
Last season, Ferrari already made a race engineer change mid-season, as Bryan Bozzi replaced Xavi Marcos in the ears of Charles Leclerc. The departing Carlos Sainz's race engineer was Riccardo Adami. It is still unknown who will be Hamilton's next after spending more than a decade with 'Bono' at Mercedes, but he will remain at the German team.
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