Lewis Hamilton gets 'Smooth Operator' as his new 'Bono' at Ferrari

Former F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton's relationship with his race engineer Bono at Mercedes is something else. If you ask Hamilton about missing one person at Mercedes who he misses the most? He will say, Peter Bonnington. Each time Lewis calls Bonnington “Bono’’ over the radio, in reply, Bono says, “Get in there, Lewis,” and “It’s hammer time," which is unforgettable for the fans. 

The relationship between a race driver and a race engineer is very important, as they both should sync and work together to bring the desired results to the team. As Lewis Hamilton joined Ferrari and started a new chapter in his career, Bono will stay with Mercedes as the head of trackside performance and oversee the development of young talent like Kimi Antonelli.

Also Read: Fernando Alonso wishes to claim Nobody's Land after F1 retirement

Smooth Operating race engineer

Ferrari has a new plan to satisfy Hamilton and make him comfortable with the team. They appointed the smooth operator as his race engineer. It is not Carlos Sainz but his race engineer Riccardo Adami, who was also the race engineer of his dear friend Sebastian Vettel during his time with the team.

curiosidade do dia: o ricky adami já foi engenheiro do daniel ricciardo na toro rosso. na teoria, um dia (2015) ele seria engenheiro do carlos, mas ele foi pra ferrari, e foi só na ferrari, 7 anos depois, que a dupla de fato aconteceu https://t.co/jgcZeZ04jUpic.twitter.com/3xLlPjoonK

— ana⁵⁵ blue era 💙 (@csainzmadrid) July 7, 2024

Reports claim that Lewis Hamilton met with Sebastian Vettel to get some insights about Adami after he signed with Ferrari. The Italian race engineer joined F1 in 2001. He worked with Minardi, and after Red Bull bought the team in 2005, he was promoted to race engineer.

Sebastian Vettel with his race engineer Ricciardo Adami, earlier today in Barcelona. #F1Testing

📸 XPB Images pic.twitter.com/4UfHswzhcX

— #DankeSeb ♡ (@sebvettelnews) February 27, 2018

He was the race engineer of Sebastian Vettel for many years and then for Daniel Ricciardo. In 2015, he switched to Ferrari and rejoined with Sebastian Vettel until he moved to Aston Martin in 2021. He then took care of Carlos Sainz for four years. 

The two had made deep connections and even sang the ‘Smooth Operator’ song over the radio. Now Ricciardo will be the race engineer for Lewis Hamilton. Having worked with Hamilton’s friend Sebastian Vettel, it should be easy for Adami to understand a multiple-time world champion. 

Also Read: Max Verstappen shuts down Michael Schumacher’s record talks