Lewis Hamilton's race engineer Peter Bonnington decided to surprise him before he switched to Ferrari. Bonnington, popularly known as Bono, made a stunning appearance in Hamilton's outfit from Tommy Hilfiger, and the seven-time world champion was stunned to see it.
Hamilton had his last race Mercedes At the recently concluded Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. As soon as he parted ways with the Silver Arrows, he also cut ties with Bonnington, whom he had worked with for nearly a decade.
Ahead of Hamilton's final trip to Maranello, Bonnington wore the seven-time world champion's Tommy Hilfiger outfit from his appearances in the paddock. Hamilton expressed his surprise when he saw “Bono” in blue jeans.
The Mercedes driver uploaded a series of photos with the race engineer on his Instagram page and wrote:
“Two legends. Bono and Tommy.”
Hamilton is set to move to Ferrari next season after the English driver signed a multi-year deal with the Prancing Horse earlier this year. He opted to race for Scarlet Ferraris from 2025, despite having a one-plus-year contract with him.
Lewis Hamilton is leaving Mercedes after 12 long years. He won six of his seven F1 titles here, making it the most successful driver-team combination. Along with six titles, he has 84 wins, 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 sent farewell messages for the departing driver.
The 39-year-old will join former F2 team boss Fred Vasseur and Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc. He will replace Carlos Sainzwho moved to Williams.
Lewis Hamilton has opened up about his relationship with Peter Bonnington
Ahead of his Ferrari move, Lewis Hamilton touched on how close he is with race engineer Peter Bonnington. The duo started working together in 2013 and were at it until the end of 2024.
“What a rollercoaster it's been with Bono, he's been one of my closest friends for many years and it's something I didn't expect because he's worked with Michael Schumacher, other great drivers,” Hamilton said (via Sports. Pictured).
“But he stood by me and stood by me every day without fail for an engineer to stick with someone as frustrating and painful as it can be at times,” he said.
Hamilton and Bonnington's “Hammer-Time” is a popular phrase around the paddock. It appeared after the British driver once asked Bono to say these words when he needed to drive faster.
Edited by Shirsh