Lewis Hamilton's new Ferrari F1 engineer could be announced in just days

Ferrari

Bono reunion? Lewis Hamilton's new Ferrari F1 engineer could be announced in just days

Hamilton is set to receive news of his new F1 engineer shortly

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Saturday 17 January 2026 20:26

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Lewis Hamilton is set to receive news over who his new Ferrari F1 race engineer could be any day now, and fans are calling for a reunion with one man in particular.

The 41-year-old's debut season in red did not go according to plan and only yielded a single race win— and not even a grand prix one at that.

The former Mercedes star only made it to the top step, or any step of the podium for what it's worth on one occasion after winning the 2025 Chinese GP sprint.

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Hamilton was left chasing the success he experienced at Mercedes and perhaps wondering whether he made the right call leaving behind the team he had called home for 12 championships.

One man who played a vital part in Hamilton's championship-winning years with the Silver Arrows is Peter Bonnington (Bono), the race engineer he left behind for Kimi Antonelli to kick off his career with while the seven-time champion put his faith in Ferrari.

But just because an engineer has worked well with drivers in the past, it doesn't necessarily mean they will be a good fit for everyone, and this is something Hamilton had to learn the hard way last season.

Having departed Mercedes and his beloved Bono, Hamilton was thrust into a working relationship with Riccardo Adami, the Ferrari engineer who had worked alongside Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz in the past.

But the Italian and the Brit clashed almost instantly, and the tense interactions heard over team radio failed to improve as the season progressed.

Hamilton to receive Ferrari boost before pre-season testing

With less than two weeks to go until the first round of private pre-season testing in Barcelona this month, it was announced that Ferrari had removed Adami from his role, with Hamilton set to be handed a new race engineer for 2026.

An official statement from Ferrari regarding Adami's future read: "Scuderia Ferrari HP announces that Riccardo Adami has moved to a new role within the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy as Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy and Test Previous Cars Manager, where his extensive trackside experience and Formula 1 expertise contributes to the development of future talent and to strengthening performance culture across the program."

It has also been reported that an announcement is to be expected over who will work with Hamilton this season, 'before the first pre-season test', which begins on January 26.

The response from fans on social media has made one thing clear; the people yearn to see a reunion between Hamilton and Bono.

One social media user even went as far as posting an edited image that depicted Bono in Ferrari team kit, stood alongside Hamilton on the F1 grid, with a caption that demanded: "Bring back Peter Bonnington."

Though portrayed rather dramatically, this fan wasn't alone and the post prompted replies from plenty of others who shared the same wish.

"Bono just one season bro please," one fan wrote as another commented beneath the image: "Ahh I dream."

Aside from the small matter of Mercedes contractual issues and the fact that returning to what worked in the past may not miraculously bring Hamilton back to his title-winning form, some fans were also concerned over what a move to Ferrari would mean for Bono's current driver, Antonelli.

"This needs to happen badly but I also love Kimi and don't want him to lose a legendary engineer," highlighted one user on 'X'.

The Italian teenager is only heading into his second season in F1 but achieved three podiums in his rookie year with Bono at his side and would surely not be in favour of a change in personnel so early on in his career.

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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F1 Lewis Hamilton Peter Bonnington