🟠 | Toto Wolff Praises Bono for Helping Kimi Correct Mistakes
Peter Bonnington, better known as Bono, is renowned as Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer throughout all his championship-winning seasons at Mercedes. This partnership achieved great success and recognition both on and off the track. However, this long-standing relationship ended at the close of 2024 when Lewis left the German team to join Ferrari and fulfill one of his dreams.
Although there were rumors that Bono might leave Mercedes to join the Maranello team, he ultimately stayed and began working with Andrea Kimi Antonelli when he moved to Formula 1 in 2025.
After several mistakes early on, Antonelli demonstrated a strong ability to learn, and his progress was remarkable. By early 2026, he had secured three consecutive wins, becoming the youngest leader in Formula 1 history in only his second year, surpassing his more experienced teammate George Russell.
Toto Wolff emphasized Bono’s importance, noting that he always knew how to guide Antonelli in the right direction and assist with his development. Bono learned from greats like Michael Schumacher and Hamilton over many years and now works with Kimi. He has been a good mentor to him, while also demanding.
"In Miami, there were several occasions when he received two speeding penalties. I told Bono, 'One more, and I’ll talk to him over the radio,' and he replied, 'No, no, leave it to me.' This shows that he knows how to handle it. That was part of his success."
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