Lewis Hamilton Opens Up On End Of Long-Term Partnership Ahead Of Ferrari F1 Move

As Lewis Hamilton prepares for his huge transition from Mercedes to Ferrari in the 2025 Formula 1 season, he faces not just a change in teams but also a poignant separation from his long-time race engineer, Peter Bonnington, affectionately known as ‘Bono’.

It was confirmed earlier this week that Bono will not be moving to Ferrari with Hamilton as he has accepted a promotion within Mercedes. Speaking about their professional and personal bond, the British driver commented to Sky Sports F1:

“I would have loved to have continued with Bono, of course.

“We have a great relationship and you heard it at Silverstone, he’s like a brother. But I’m really, really happy for him. For me, I think it’s just about people doing whatever’s best for you.

“Packing up and leaving, him and his partner, it impacts both of them, so they had to do whatever is right for him.

“I knew it would be an unlikely scenario that he would go with me because it’s such a drastic change for his life. But I’m really happy that the team have acknowledged and made changes, so he can grow more.

“I think he’ll now be able to show them even more of the great things he can do. But either way, we’re going to be family forever. We’ve spoken about it and we just want to make sure we finish on a high.”

Bonnington had previously been seven-time champion Michael Schumacher’s race engineer before Hamilton joined the team, replacing the German driver as he headed into retirement.

“When I joined this team, I just came in and Bono was the head engineer at the time.

“It’s got to be someone you get on with, it’s got to be someone you are able to build a relationship with and trust.

“The next one, that’s going to be a discovery process. I’ll know early on whether it’s going to work or not. But I think it’s just about communicating.”

As Hamilton prepares for his final 10 races with Mercedes, a team he has been driving for since 2013, he remains focused on narrowing the points gap in the Drivers’ Championship, where he currently stands sixth.

Reflecting on the improvements at Mercedes, Hamilton shared his optimism about the team’s direction:

“When we started off the season, I know so many of us in the team didn’t expect…we didn’t know when we would get back to top performance and be fighting at the front, we thought it was such a long shot.

“But everyone back at the factory just worked so hard and we now know what the car needs and we’ve got it in a much happier place. And to drive it, the car is much more of a racing car now and I’m generally really enjoying driving it. So I think it’s reflecting that.”