Lewis Hamilton’s long-standing race engineer, Peter Bonnington, affectionately known as ‘Bono’, has been given a new position within the Mercedes team and will not be joining the seven-time Formula One world champion at Ferrari next season.
According to a team representative, the promotion to head of race engineering was announced internally before the August break. Until the end of the season, Bonnington will continue to work alongside Hamilton, who will be departing Mercedes after 12 years to join his third Formula One team, McLaren being his initial team in 2007. Their radio communications, including the famous ‘Hammer Time’ call to push harder, have become iconic within the sport and are recognized by fans around the world. Mercedes has yet to reveal Hamilton’s replacement, although there is strong speculation that Andrea Kimi Antonelli is the frontrunner. Antonelli, who turns 18 on Sunday, could potentially participate in the Friday practice session at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.
The Formula One season resumes this weekend with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, which holds special significance for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen as his home race.
