Lewis Hamilton’s engineer Bono was SHOCKED by Ferrari move and is yet to decide on his future with Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton and Bono have been working together at Mercedes since the seven-time world champion joined the team in 2013.

Lewis Hamilton’s engineer Bono was SHOCKED by Ferrari move and is yet to decide on his future with Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton and his race engineer Bono (via tumbig.com).

The news of Lewis Hamilton‘s move to Ferrari came as a massive bombshell to the entire F1 grid paddock. The timing of this switch was so unnatural that Hamilton’s race engineer Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington did not believe it at first. With the Briton’s unexpected move next year, the race engineer is yet to finalize his situation within Mercedes.

Usually, the drivers are well suited with their race engineers due to the constant back and forth between them during the races. Hence, with Hamilton’s move to Ferrari next year, one would expect Bono to make the shift to work alongside the 39-year-old. Initially, Bono was hesitant to accept the fact that the seven-time world champion would exit the team in the coming season. Apart from this, Toto Wolff added that the race engineer thought of this news as a mere ‘April Fools joke’.

As much as I've spoken with Bono already, when I told him [about Hamilton's move] he said, 'Is it April the first?'
Wolff said, as reported by autosport.com.
YouTube video

Bono’s future at Mercedes is yet to be discussed following the Briton’s move to Ferrari. Hence, Wolff highlighted that they would discuss the status quo in the coming months. The main issue with Bono’s move to Ferrari is that Lewis Hamilton would have to shift to the Italian constructor in under a month, after the culmination of the 2024 season. Moreover, settling in Italy could be a culture shock for Bono as it could take time some time to adapt to the local culture and language.

FS Video
I think this is a discussion which everyone needs to have in the months to come, That's something which we will discuss in the future.

Lewis Hamilton wants to end his ultimate season at Mercedes on a high

The Briton will race for Mercedes for the last season in his career. Hamilton has previously highlighted that he wants to end the season on a ‘high’. Claiming the championship title in the 2024 season would be the best way to end the season on a high. Hence, the 39-year-old will push and try to maximize results for his ultimate season at Brackley.

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc (Via: Imago)

Additionally, Toto Wolff had also talked about a potential ‘revenge’ for the controversial 2021 championship results. The Austrian boss highlighted that winning the championship in his final season at Mercedes would be the best result for the Briton. Hence, a championship challenge for the 2024 season is in the works for Brackley.

Lewis Hamilton prepares for the challenges in the upcoming season. There aren’t many details on the performance of the W15 yet, but the team has displayed optimism over the development of the challenger. Hence, Lewis Hamilton would attempt to end the 2024 season on a high, amidst his shocking switch to Maranello.

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