Hamilton set for new race engineer at Ferrari as Bonnington secures Mercedes promotion

NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JULY 07: Race winner Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes celebrates with race engineer Peter Bonnington on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer Pete Bonnington has committed his future to Mercedes after securing a promotion to Head of Race Engineering.

Bonnington has worked with Hamilton since the seven-time world champion joined the team in 2013, the duo winning six world titles together.

When Hamilton announced he would be joining Ferrari next season, it remained unclear whether Bonnington – often referred to as Bono – would follow or stay with Mercedes.

However, ahead of this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, a Mercedes spokesperson confirmed to Formula1.com that Bonnington will assume his new role with immediate effect. Bono will dovetail that role with continuing to race engineer Hamilton for the remainder of the season.

NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JULY 09: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes talks with race engineer Peter Bonnington on the grid during the F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Hamilton and Bono have worked together for 12 seasons at Mercedes

He will then continue to race engineer one driver next year, though it remains unclear whether that will be George Russell or Hamilton’s replacement. Mercedes protégé and F2 racer Kimi Antonelli is favourite to get the nod.

It is a similar arrangement to what Red Bull have, with Gianpiero Lambiase working as Head of Race Engineering while also continuing to race engineer reigning world champion Max Verstappen.

Bonnington’s new arrangement continues a stint with the squad that began when they were Honda and continued when they became BrawnGP and then Mercedes.

During that time, he’s worked with the likes of world champions Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button and built up a wealth of experience trackside.