“It’s Hammer time” and “Get in there, Lewis” are iconic radio messages that signify the relationship between Peter Bonnington aka Bono, and Lewis Hamilton. Precisely, their bond has only deepened ever since the Briton jumped ship to Mercedes in 2013. Last year, they completed 200 Grands Prix and 10 years together as a driver-engineer duo. An unearthed video, supposedly from the same time on Twitter (now X) showcases Bonnington recalling the memories from 2013 and his expectations when he first met Hamilton.
He said, “It was a bit nervous meeting you for the first time. The rockstar just came into that team.” Bonnington summarized how the entire team including him was unaware of the impending success they were going to achieve with the Stevenage-born driver. He added,
“Something you couldn’t really get your head around. You thought a championship or two would be just unreal, but wow how far we’ve come”.
The 49-year-old also recalled his times with Hamilton, and how regularly they used to spend the race weekends trying to figure out their plans to win. Eventually, Bonnington cited how the British champ used to “just come out and deliver”, regardless of the circumstances.
200+ GP together for them !
P.S Lewis’ smile when Bono started talking pic.twitter.com/h7XRsY1PsD
— out of context Peter Bonnington (@bonotires) April 2, 2023
Hamilton completed 200 races with Bono at the 2023 Australian GP. While the seven-time champion has faced a rough period since the advent of the ground effect regulations in 2022, the British engineer has been a solid support system as usual, like his glory days pre-2021.
Although now, this duo will eventually part ways as Hamilton has finalized his move to Ferrari in 2025.
Will Peter Bonnington move to Ferrari besides Lewis Hamilton?
Lewis Hamilton is into his 12th and final season with Mercedes and Peter Bonnington. The Briton will part ways with Bono as his race engineer at the end of 2024. Many of his fans are quite sad about this separation as a result of the blockbuster Ferrari move.
There have been rumors of whether the British engineer would follow Hamilton to Maranello as his confidante. With senior figures like Loic Serra already joining the Italian team, there were possibilities that the 39-year-old may convince his trusted race engineer to follow suit too.
However, that won’t be happening, as an anti-poaching clause prohibits Hamilton from taking any engineers with him, while he is leaving. Serra, on the other hand, is leaving on his terms and was signed by the Maranello-based team, even before Hamilton’s announcement happened.
Meanwhile, reports also suggest that Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur has confirmed that Riccardo Adami, who is Carlos Sainz’s current engineer will also serve as the #44 driver’s engineer, come 2025. Adami has been working with the Maranello outfit since 2015 and has also worked with Sebastian Vettel previously.
So, as heartbreaking as it seems that Hamilton will part ways with Bonnington, he will start a fresh chapter with another experienced race engineer at Ferrari.
