Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer Peter Bonnington’s reaction to his Ferrari move disclosed by Mercedes chief

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff disclosed Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer Peter Bonnington’s reaction to the British driver’s shock move to Ferrari.

The motorsports community was shaken to its core when on Thursday, February 1, it was officially confirmed that seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton will depart from Mercedes, his team of 11 years, at the end of the 2024 season. The 39-year-old is set to join Scuderia Ferrari on a multi-year deal in 2025, where he will partner alongside long-time Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc.

With his departure now imminent, chaos surrounds the Mercedes camp. Amid rising speculations of Lewis Hamilton’s potential replacements at the Brackley-based outfit, Toto Wolff addressed the media on Friday, where he divulged the intriguing reaction of Bonnington.

Peter Bonnington, affectionately known as Bono, joined Mercedes in 2013 as Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer and has shared a close friendship with the British driver throughout their successful partnership at Mercedes. Now, with Hamilton’s impending departure, Wolff shared Bonnington’s initial response. Toto Wolff said (via PlanetF1):

“I think this is a discussion that everyone needs to have in the months to come. As much as I’ve spoken with Bono already, when I told him, he said ‘Is it April the first?’ That’s something which we will discuss in the future in the next couple [of months].”