Lewis Hamilton‘s departure from Mercedes to Ferrari in 2025 came as a shock to many within the team. Following this, some reports suggested Hamilton was considering bringing key personnel, like his race engineer Peter Bonnington, to the Scuderia. Nonetheless, because of contractual limitations, Hamilton is unable to bring his trusted allies with him. However, this particular limitation has caused no grief for the former F1 driver, Karun Chandhok. According to him, Hamilton should overlook the idea of bringing Peter Bonnington and instead prioritize targeting Adrian Newey to form a dream team at Ferrari.
During a conversation on the Fast and the Curious podcast, Karun Chandhok said, “If you were Lewis Hamilton, you’d be on the phone to Adrian Newey and saying, what do you need to come and work at Ferrari with me and we can win the World Championship together and turn Ferrari around?”
The basis for Chandhok’s argument is Bonnington’s contractual restrictions, which keep him from working with Hamilton at Ferrari. Chandhok therefore recommended that Hamilton should shift his attention to luring Adrian Newey to Ferrari.
Chandhok further emphasized that, although Hamilton and Bonnington have a close relationship, other factors are also important for success on the track. The Indian former driver also highlighted a major distinction between Newey and Bonnington’s roles.
He said that unlike Bonnington, Newey is involved in designing the car, alongside numerous other personnel in Maranello. While wrapping Chandhok illustrates his point by referencing Charles Leclerc’s consistent front-row qualifications in the last five races of the previous year.
Adrian Newey’s closest aide might follow Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari
Under Frederic Vasseur’s leadership, Ferrari has pulled off a huge move by signing one of the best F1 drivers, Lewis Hamilton. Due to such a huge transfer, the Maranello team seems determined to end its championship drought since 2007-08.
Some reports also suggest that even Red Bull’s technical director, Pierre Wacche may also join Ferrari. The French engineer has been working under Adrian Newey for a while now and thus could be incredibly beneficial for the Scuderia. However, this news hasn’t been confirmed definitively.
Given Wache’s close collaboration with Newey, his potential arrival could also influence the 65-year-old genius to consider joining Ferrari as well.
