Bonnington Ascends: Mercedes' Internal Shifts as Hamilton Eyes Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton’s long-time race engineer, Peter Bonnington, also known as 'Bono', has been promoted to head of race engineering at Mercedes. This internal shift precedes Hamilton’s move to Ferrari next season. Though Mercedes has yet to announce Hamilton’s replacement, young Italian driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli is a strong contender.

Lewis Hamilton's long-time race engineer, Peter Bonnington, commonly referred to as 'Bono', has been assigned a new role at Mercedes and will not be accompanying the seven-time Formula One world champion to Ferrari next season. A team spokesperson revealed on Wednesday that Bonnington's promotion, to head of race engineering, was announced internally before the August break.

Bonnington will continue working with Hamilton until the end of the season, after which the 39-year-old British driver will move to Maranello and join his third team in Formula One, having started his career with McLaren in 2007. The two have been a team for Hamilton's 12 years at Mercedes, with their radio conversations, including the famous 'Hammer Time' call to push the limits, becoming iconic among the sport's global audience.

Mercedes has yet to announce a replacement for Hamilton, but Andrea Kimi Antonelli is widely regarded as the frontrunner. The Italian driver turns 18 on Sunday and is expected to participate in the following Friday practice at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. The Formula One season resumes this weekend with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, the home race for Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

(With inputs from agencies.)