Mercedes F1 team left red faced after Lewis Hamilton blunder at Chinese Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli — Photo: © IMAGO

Mercedes

Mercedes left red faced after Lewis Hamilton blunder

Mercedes are getting used to life after Hamilton

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Sunday 23 March 2025 10:57

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Lewis Hamilton's former F1 race engineer at Mercedes, Peter 'Bono' Bonnington, made an unfortunate error during the Chinese Grand Prix.

Bonnington is now working as a race engineer for 18-year-old teen sensation Kimi Antonelli, who replaced Hamilton after the seven-time champion opted to join Ferrari for 2025.

During qualifying for the Chinese GP, Bonnington mistook the new Mercedes driver for the old one, responding 'copy that Lewis' to the Italian over the radio, before correcting himself in an awkward mishap.

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Bonnington worked with Hamilton for 12 seasons, with the pair winning six world championship titles and 84 grands prix together.

Bonnington missing Hamilton

Hamilton had a close relationship with 'Bono' - highlighted by the celebrations the pair shared after Hamilton won the 2024 British GP, his first win for almost three years.

Bonnington was emotional after that particular race, and joined Hamilton on the podium to celebrate the joyous moment in Hamilton's final season with the team.

Mercedes and Hamilton are onto pastures new now, with Antonelli impressing on both of his first two race weekends as a rookie with the team.

Antonelli finished fourth in Australia, having started down in 16th, and was close to a podium on his F1 debut.

His early performances have helped to fill the huge hole left by the seven-time champion's departure from the team.

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Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Mercedes Kimi Antonelli Chinese Grand Prix