Lewis Hamilton is now open to reunite with key Mercedes ally 'Bono' at Ferrari, but there are problems

Lewis Hamilton and Peter Bonnington are pictured at Ferrari — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 Analysis

Lewis Hamilton now open to reunite with 'Bono' at Ferrari, but there are problems

Is a reunion on the cards?

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Saturday 17 January 2026 17:58 Updated: 18:22

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If Lewis Hamilton's F1 career was a movie we'd be approaching its final act, desperately itching for our phones to punch in our Letterboxd review.

After a cataclysmic series of events, Hamilton would be heroically saved by the arrival of Peter Bonnington, and end the film teary-eyed after being crowned an eight-time world champion. But, this isn't a movie. And a fairytale reunion with his beloved 'Bono' is hyperbolic fiction.

Riccardo Adami’s exit was met with rapturous applause from Hamilton fans, even leaving some hankering for a reconciliation with Bono. Hamilton needs Bono — or a race engineer he can establish a similar rapport with — but that takes time, a privilege that can no longer be afforded to the 41-year-old.

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So, let's not waste time on conjecture. Bono won't move to Ferrari. Sorry to disappoint, but Hamilton will have to face his final act without his trusted ally. But there's a bigger question here: Even if he has been approached, why would he entertain such upheaval?

Bono and Ferrari? Ain't gonna happen

Reportedly, Hamilton's race engineer will be announced before pre-season testing kicks off in Barcelona, which suggests the new hire will be by Hamilton's side as soon as the end of January.

This alone means it cannot possibly be Bono who — even if his exit from Mercedes was announced today — would most likely have to undergo a period of gardening leave first. No, Ferrari needs a quick turnaround so Hamilton and his new engineer can build their relationship before the 2026 season.

Even if Ferrari had been courting Bono for the past year, there are plenty of reasons he wouldn't entertain re-joining Hamilton's camp, the same reasons that prevented him from following the champion to Maranello in the first place.

Bono is not going to uproot his life, and his family, to start afresh in Italy, especially considering how embedded he now is at Mercedes, not only as a race engineer, but also as their head of trackside performance.

The 50-year-old is also clearly invested in the future of Kimi Antonelli. Alongside Toto Wolff, Bono played a crucial role in helping nurture the youngster's talents, responsible for yanking him out of his European slumber and coaxing him into a competent driver again.

Already Bono and Antonelli have a natural rapport over the airwaves, a kind of 'father-son' dynamic that would have delivered yet another sucker punch to Hamilton last year. You can tell that Bono and Antonelli are locked in long-term.

Not convinced? Okay then, let's entertain, hypothetically, a Ferrari switch for Bono. Wouldn't he just struggle in the same coltish environment Hamilton was forced to endure and acclimatise within? Wouldn't the language barrier only alienate Bono alongside Hamilton, rather than harmonise the team?

If a reunion didn’t expedite success, frustration could build into resentment and tarnish the treasured legacy shared by Bono and Hamilton. Why would either party do that to themselves? It’s in both Bono and Hamilton's interest to not try and recreate the past, lest they blemish the memory of it altogether.

So, we throw it back to the movie, its denouement as a sudden realisation permeates across Hamilton's features. As he speed dates his way through Maranello trying to find the perfect partner, it dawns on him that no relationship will ever be as good as it was with Bono.

You could feel sorry for Hamilton in this respect. But then, maybe, he shouldn't have left his marriage so hastily in the first place.