A young prodigy in the Mercedes junior program named Kimi Antonelli gave Peter "Bono" Bonnington a birthday treat that represented teamwork. Although Bono, who is well-known for being Lewis Hamilton's race engineer, received a cake, the highlight was when Kimi splattered his face with cream in a humorous manner.
This humorous incident, which was posted on social media, demonstrated the relationship between the rookie driver and the experienced engineer. It showed the lighter side of the high-pressure world of Formula 1 and was a straightforward but memorable approach to honour Bono's special day.
Watch the video here:
After being promoted to Head of Racing Engineering, Pete Bonnington, the racing engineer for Lewis Hamilton, has pledged his future to Mercedes. Since the seven-time world champion joined the squad in 2013, Bonnington has worked alongside Hamilton, and the two have won six world championships together. It was unknown whether Bonnington, often known as Bono, would follow Hamilton's announcement that he would be joining Ferrari for the upcoming season or continue with Mercedes.
Peter Bonnington's journey with Mercedes
However, a Mercedes representative told Formula1.com before this weekend's Dutch Grand Prix that Bonnington will take on his new position immediately. For the rest of the season, Bono will continue to race engineer Hamilton in addition to that duty. Next year, he will continue to race engineer one driver, albeit it is still unknown if Hamilton or George Russell will take his place. The favorites to be selected are F2 Racer and Mercedes Kimi Antonelli. With Gianpiero Lambiase serving as Head of Race Engineering and continuing to race engineer current world champion Max Verstappen, it is comparable to the setup at Red Bull.
Bonnington's new contract extends his time with the team, which started when they were Honda and moved on to BrawnGP and then Mercedes. He has accumulated a great deal of trackside experience over that period, working with drivers including world champions Jenson Button and Michael Schumacher.
Here are fans reaction on the news:
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