‘He’s my brother’ – Ferrari-bound Hamilton admits parting ways with long-time engineer Bonnington will be ‘sad for both of us’

Lewis Hamilton has heaped praise on Race Engineer Pete Bonnington following news of his promotion at Mercedes, but admits it will be an emotional moment when their working relationship comes to an end.

Mercedes confirmed to Formula1.com ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix that Bonnington – who also goes by the nickname Bono – will not be following Hamilton to Ferrari at the end of the year, with the Silver Arrows making him their new Head of Race Engineering.

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Bonnington has worked with Hamilton since the latter joined Mercedes back in 2013, leading to plenty of speculation over whether a partnership that has delivered six drivers’ titles would continue at the Scuderia.

As the F1 paddock reassembled at Zandvoort following the summer break, Hamilton gave his first public comments on the news and addressed whether any talks had taken place behind the scenes.

“I think like seven years ago maybe, or five years ago, something like that, I remember there was like a, probably a joke, that it would be amazing to be [at Ferrari] one day, but no, we’ve not had any discussions about [Bono joining me there],” said Hamilton.

“I’m so happy for Bono. I really just ultimately wanted him to do whatever was best for him. Where he is in his life, he had to make the best call for what would be best for him and for his family.

“That doesn’t change anything, really, between us. We don’t get to work together, next to each other, every day, which will be sad for both of us – it’s going to be emotional. But we’re always going to be in each other’s lives. Bono’s my brother.

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“I’m really happy that the team have taken him on, and he’s got this great opportunity to grow more within the team, because he’s such a great asset for the team.”

That move to Ferrari aside, Hamilton and Bonnington have 10 more races together at Mercedes as both driver and team look to continue what has been an impressive charge up the pecking order over the first half of the 2024 season.

“It feels phenomenal, to be honest,” said Hamilton of Mercedes’s recovery. “When we started the year we definitely didn’t feel that… I remember when we first drove the car, when we came away from the test, all of us were like, ‘Jeez, it’s going to be a really long year’.

“We had all those difficult races where we were struggling to even be in the top-10, so to see the turnaround… I had faith that we would do it at some stage, like we did in 2022 by Brazil, I thought at some stage we would get there. Did I know it would be by this time? Absolutely not.

“Everyone’s just worked so hard back at the factory, everyone’s stayed so motivated and focused, so it’s just a really good feeling to know that we can arrive and have a car that we can fight for points [with] now.”

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Hamilton, who won at Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps, sits sixth in the drivers’ standings, having scored just one point fewer than championship leader Max Verstappen over the last seven races, while Mercedes hold fourth in the constructors’ battle, 79 points behind third-placed Ferrari, 100 behind McLaren and 142 behind Red Bull.

Outlining his and the team’s targets for the remainder of the year, seven-time world champion Hamilton added: “I think for me, we’re just trying to build weekend in, weekend out, on our performance.

“If we can catch Ferrari in the constructors’, that would be an amazing recovery. If we can move into the top-five driver-wise, if I can get close to the top-three, I think that would be a good recovery.”