Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer, Peter Bonnington, decided to surprise Lewis Hamilton before he moved to Ferrari. Bonnington, popularly known as Bono, made a surprise appearance wearing Tommy Hilfiger’s Hamilton, and the seven-time world champion was stunned to see it.
Hamilton last raced for Mercedes at the recently concluded Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. As he parted ways with the Silver Arrows, he is also severing his working relationship with Bonnington, with whom he had worked for almost a decade.
Ahead of Hamilton’s final move to Maranello, Bonnington donned the seven-time world champion’s Tommy Hilfiger outfit. Hamilton expressed surprise when he saw Bono wearing a light blue denim outfit.
The Mercedes driver uploaded a series of pictures with the race engineer on his Instagram handle with the caption:
“Two legends. Bono and Tommy.”
Hamilton is poised to move to Ferrari next season after the British driver signed a multi-year deal with the Prancing Horse earlier this year. Despite signing him for more than a year, he has decided to race in the Scarlet Ferrari from 2025.
Lewis Hamilton is leaving Mercedes after 12 long years. He won six of the seven F1 titles here, making it the most successful driver-team combination. In addition to his six titles, he has 84 victories, 78 pole positions and 78 podium finishes.
The entire Mercedes AMG F1 team, including teammate George Russell, team principal Toto Wolff and race engineer Peter Bonnington, bid farewell to the departing driver.
The 39-year-old will join his former F2 team boss Fred Vasseur and Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc. He will replace Carlos Sainz, who moved to Williams.
Lewis Hamilton has opened up about his relationship with Peter Bonnington.
Before moving to Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton spoke about how close he was to his race engineer Peter Bonnington. The two began working together in 2013 and remained together until the end of 2024.
Hamilton said: “It’s been a real rollercoaster with Bono. He’s been one of my closest friends for many years and I’ve worked with another great driver, Michael Schumacher, so it’s something I never thought I’d have.” said Hamilton (via Sports). illustrated).
“But he was there for me and he stood by me day after day, without fail, to help engineers hold on to someone who can sometimes feel frustration and pain,” he added.
Hamilton and Bonnington’s ‘Hammer-Time’ is a famous phrase around the ranch. This quote came about after a British driver asked Bono to say this every time he needed to drive faster.
Editor: Shirsh
