Hamilton reacts to pending split from key ally Bonnington

Lewis Hamilton has reacted to the confirmation his race engineer Peter Bonnington will not follow him to Ferrari next year.

Bonnington, who is more commonly referred to as 'Bono', has been promoted to head of race engineering at Mercedes, ending any speculation he will join Ferrari with Hamilton in 2025.

The duo have been paired together since Hamilton's arrival at Mercedes in 2013, with Bonnington feeding the seven-time world champion all relevant information through the car radio during sessions.

However, their partnership will come to an end at the end of the current campaign when Hamilton exits the team.

“Seven years ago, or five years ago there was a joke that it would be amazing to be there [at Ferrari] one day,” Hamilton told Sky F1. 

“But we’ve not had any discussions about it.”

Hamilton 'so happy' for Bonnington promotion

Hamilton's final season at Mercedes has seen him emerge victorious twice in the last three races.

As he prepares for his final run of races with the Brackley-based team and Bonnington, Hamilton expressed joy over the 49-year-old's promotion.

“I’m genuinely so happy for Bono,” Hamilton stated. “Ultimately, I wanted him to do whatever was best for him.

“Where he is in his life, he had to make the best call for him and for his family. That doesn’t change anything between us.

“We won’t get to work next to each other every day, which will be sad for both of us. It’s going to be emotional but we’re always going to be in each other’s lives. 

“Bono is my brother, I’m really happy the team is taking him on and giving him the opportunity to grow within the team because he’s such a great asset.”