Hamilton was "a rockstar" when he joined Mercedes - Bonnington
Hamilton was "a rockstar" when he joined Mercedes - Bonnington
Mercedes race engineer Peter Bonnington has revealed Lewis Hamilton was like "a rockstar" when the Briton first arrived at the team in 2013.
The pair have worked together since Hamilton made the move from McLaren, winning seven constructors' titles and six drivers' championships together.
After Hamilton picked up his 10th win of the season in Turkey on Sunday to clinch a record-equalling seventh title, Bonnington recounted the first time he met and worked with the British driver.
"Obviously, the first time he comes to the factory, that is the first time we meet and the first time we start working," he told Sky Sports F1.
"It felt like he was a rockstar walking in. Just looking back at the pictures and you are like 'Wow! This is Lewis!"
After previously working with Michael Schumacher prior to Hamilton's arrival, Bonnington added: "I had Michael, such a legend, a great driver to have worked with.
"Then Lewis comes along and he is the new breed, he is here and he is the rockstar and I am the one in charge. I am probably the triangle, symbols maybe. Some bit of percussion." Since being together, Bonnington believes that both have "grown-up" over the years, in particular, praising the all-round development of Hamilton as a person and a driver.
In speaking on the relationship between the pair and how he is able to let his driver vent during races in order to keep an equilibrium of balance, Bonnington pointed towards Hamilton's strength as a defining feature of his personality. Conceding there is a huge amount of respect between them, Bonnington added: "Massively, that is what relationships are all about isn't it? It is building that trust between each other and understanding what you really mean when you say something. It is not just what you say, it is how you say it.
"We have grown up over these years, since 2013. I guess I still consider myself quite a young engineer back in those days.
"Michael's years gave me such a learning ground. Wow! It was a very steep learning curve but then with Lewis, even then, I didn't feel like I was probably worthy of dealing with [someone] already a world champ.
"But it is just having time with him. We just kept improving, chipping away year on year, finding the next thing we could learn - where can we find that next bit of performance?
"He just embraces it, which is really great. It is the thing people probably don't see but it is just that ability to learn and just soak up the next thing.
"Back then, he wasn't quite as polished as he is now. I mean, now, wow! Performances like that, just the strength that he has just shone through."
Before you go...
Hamilton's chilling message "a scary thing" for rivals - Rosberg
Turkish Grand Prix lottery "not what Formula 1 is about" - Russell
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Marko DIRECTLY addresses Verstappen quit rumours
- 32 minutes ago
Vettel CONFIRMS F1 comeback and reveals what's holding it up
- 1 hour ago
- 1
Hamilton flooded with applications as F1 celebrity pal founds new team
- 2 hours ago
F1 News Today: Hamilton puts himself on the market with F1 set for TAKEOVER worth 'billions'
- 2 hours ago
EXCLUSIVE: Meeting F1's Max Verstappen - Red Bull star’s ‘cool’ canteen encounter
- 3 hours ago
Alonso RIDICULES major FIA decision
- 3 hours ago
F1 Race Calendar
-
GP BAHRAIN
29 Feb - 2 Mar
Max Verstappen
-
GP SAUDI ARABIA
7 - 9 Mar
Max Verstappen
-
GP AUSTRALIA
22 - 24 Mar
Carlos Sainz
- GP JAPAN 5 - 7 Apr
- GP CHINA 19 - 21 Apr
- GP USA 3 - 6 May
- GP ITALY 17 - 19 May
- GP MONACO 24 - 26 May
Related news
Hamilton flooded with applications as F1 celebrity pal founds new team
Hamilton relationship 'ENDS' as F1 legend looks for celebrity date
Wolff WARNS Hamilton about Ferrari competitiveness
F1 pundit SLAMS Mercedes as Hamilton woes continue
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860