Hamilton's Engineer 'Bono' Will Not Follow To Ferrari Amid Mercedes Promotion

Mercedes Formula 1 team confirmed Peter "Bono" Bonnington would not follow his driver, Lewis Hamilton, to Ferrari after he leaves at the end of the 2024 season.

When the seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton announced that he would be leaving Mercedes at the end of the 2024 season, it was unclear whether he would be the only one leaving the German team to join Ferrari.

A real possibility was that he could take at least his race engineer and maybe a small group of additional engineers and mechanics with him.

However, while some others might possibly still follow the 39-year-old to Ferrari, we have now learned that his race engineer, Peter Bonnington will stay at Mercedes.

Hamilton and Bonnington have worked together since the British F1 driver joined the Silver Arrows in 2013. 2024 will be their 12th and final season together. Formula 1 announced on their website:

What will be this new role? Bonnington will become Head of Race Engineering- which involves overseeing race operations, strategic planning, car setup and optimization, data analysis and feedback, driver communication, coordination with technical departments, leadership, and team management.

What happens after this year? While the seven-time World Champion will have to find himself a new race engineer in the team from Maranello, Bono will continue as an engineer to another driver in Mercedes.

As it stands, it is unclear whether it will be George Russell or Hamilton's replacement- which is yet to be announced. Max Verstappen's engineer Gianpiero Lambiase works with a similar agreement. While he is Head of Race Engineering, he continues as race engineer of the triple World F1 Champion.