(Video) Mercedes engineer Bono calls Kimi Antonelli ‘Lewis Hamilton’ during Chinese GP Qualifying 

Lewis Hamilton's former race engineer Bono surprisingly called his new driver Kimi Antonelli 'Lewis' during Chinese GP Qualifying.

(Video) Mercedes engineer Bono calls Kimi Antonelli ‘Lewis Hamilton’ during Chinese GP Qualifying 

Lewis Hamilton, Peter Bonnington and Kimi Antonelli (Via IMAGO)

Lewis Hamilton seems to have now settled in well with the all-Italian crew at Ferrari. The Briton had some back-and-forth with his race engineer Ricciardo Adami during his first-ever weekend with the team. To avoid this, Hamilton had tried bringing his long-time engineer Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington from Mercedes to the Scuderia. However, Mercedes prevented this move despite Bono being extremely close to the 40-year-old. Now, Bono mistakenly called Kimi Antonelli with his former driver’s name in a shocking manner.

Mercedes had the massive task of starting the 2025 season in the absence of Lewis Hamilton for the first time in over 12 years. Despite Hamilton’s woeful performances in his final years with the team, his feedback and experience were crucial for Brackley. Even Bono was used to working alongside the 40-year-old as they two had been together since the latter’s debut in 2013. As a result, the Briton was used to saying Lewis on the team radio for such a long time.

Now, Bono has been paired up with Hamilton’s replacement, the prodigy Kimi Antonelli. Even the 18-year-old seems to inherit great speed and talent as depicted from his amazing recovery drive at the Australian GP. Hence, the Italian was providing information to Bono during the Qualifying session of the Chinese GP.

FS Video

During this, Bono committed a major mistake and miscalled Antonelli with Hamilton’s name. The British engineer was responding to the 18-year-old and accepting whatever he said. However, during this, he blurted out ‘copy that Lewis’ out of pure habit from the past 13 years. Regardless, the 50-year-old was quick to figure out his mistake and fix it. He immediately said ‘Copy that Kimi’ and the two did not speak further upon the matter.

Yeah… Uh, Copy that Lewis….. Oh, Copy that Kimi….

Bono told Kimi Antonelli on the Mercedes Team Radio.

Lewis Hamilton reveals he does not read the news due to a ‘lot of negativity’

Lewis Hamilton is a highly influential personality on the Formula 1 grid, not only due to his performances but also his stunning personality. The 40-year-old is also one of the most successful, if not the most successful driver in the history of Formula 1. Due to this, Hamilton has a plethora of fans and supporters who support him through every situation. However, this success also caused many people to hate the Briton for some unforeseeable reasons.

Lewis Hamilton (via Ferrari)
Lewis Hamilton (via Ferrari)

Hamilton reveals that he does not tend to pay attention to such negativity and turns a blind eye to them. The Briton pointed out that he does not read the news due to seeing the people he admired talk out of turn on any matter. The 40-year-old highlighted that many people made ‘uneducated guesses’ on matters that they were not aware about at all. The seven-time champion believed that those naysayers had a lack of appreciation for them no matter the situation.

I don’t read the news, but I see bits here and there – see people that I’ve admired for years just talking out of turn. Clearly some of them really just making uneducated guesses of what’s going on. And like I was just saying, just a real lack of appreciation.

Lewis Hamilton noted.

Lewis Hamilton claims he’s ‘still learning along the way’

Lewis Hamilton suffered from a mediocre outing in the Qualifying session for the main race on Sunday. The Briton could only manage a P5 start for the Chinese GP despite clinching the Sprint Race victory ahead of the session. As such, the 40-year-old reckoned that he was still learning the ways of the Ferrari challenger in order to extract maximum performance out of it.

Lewis Hamilton (via Motorsport.com)
Lewis Hamilton (via Motorsport.com)

Hamilton asserts that he is still learning ‘how to move the tools’ to make the car perform the way he intends it to. Moreover, the Briton was ‘happy’ with how the car performed during his stint in the Sprint Race given the conditions. Now, the 40-year-old is confident that he has knowledge of what the car likes and exactly what he needs to do to make it go faster than ever.

I’m learning along the way still, how to move the tools in order to make the car work the way I want it to work so I’m really happy with how it came out, given that’s the case. But I’ve got much better knowledge now of what the car likes and what I need to do to make it faster.

Lewis Hamilton said in a press-conference in China.

Ferrari’s performance has remained promising for Hamilton and Leclerc as they might have a shot at contending for the race win on Sunday. The Briton has remained confident in his chances to keep up with his positive performances in China. Moreover, the rivals seem to be on-par with the Italian constructor as multiple teams and drivers set their eyes on the prize.