Hamilton praises Mercedes colleague for being 'integral' to his success

Lewis Hamilton has praised his Mercedes senior race engineer Peter Bonnington for being "integral" to his success.

Bonnington – known as "Bono" – has acted in the role since Hamilton joined the Silver Arrows back in 2013, with his voice on the radio becoming well-known to fans of the sport.

The partnership between the two also sparked the famous "it's hammer time" phrase that Bonnington is often heard saying to Hamilton, something that Hamilton has explained the history of.

"I think I came up with hammer time," Hamilton told media, including RacingNews365.com.

"There was a point where he was like, 'Now is the time to push,' and I got frustrated with him because I was like, 'Dude, I’m already pushing!'

"But I was like, 'If you're trying to signify now's the time to go all out, use everything you have', I said, 'Just tell me it's hammer time'. That was part of our growth."

Hamilton reflects on 'amazing' journey with Bonnington

Hamilton believes that working with Bonnington has been an important factor in what he has achieved during his time in F1.

"I'm incredibly grateful for Bono," the seven-time World Champion said.

"I've had an amazing journey with him. I think we've got one of the longest, if not the longest driver-engineer partnership that there’s been.

"He's been hugely integral to my success."

Hamilton: Bonnington is like a brother to me

Mercedes faced a difficult campaign in 2022, and Hamilton has credited Bonnington for being supportive during ups and downs.

"We've supported each other on and off track, through good and bad times," he continued.

"I love working with him, he's like a brother to me.

"He's probably one of the few people that can truly stand me, I would say, like on the good and bad days, except for Roscoe [Hamilton's dog]!

"How calm he's able to be throughout the race, and how he's been able to guide and help navigate me through a race, I don't think there's many people who could do that."