After a strong Friday in Monaco, Lewis Hamilton has spoken highly of his collaboration with Ferrari race engineer Carlo Santi. At the same time, the seven-time world champion acknowledges that it takes time for a new engineer to develop the same intuitive collaboration as Peter Bonnington, the man with whom he celebrated years of success at Mercedes.
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Santi was promoted to Hamilton’s temporary race engineer at the start of the season after Ferrari decided to remove Riccardo Adami from his position. The Italian is no stranger within Maranello and has previously worked with Kimi Räikkönen, among others. “Santi is absolutely amazing,” Hamilton states about the Italian.
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Nevertheless, Hamilton cannot escape the comparison with Bonnington, better known as ‘Bono’. The Mercedes engineer was the constant voice in Hamilton’s ear for more than ten years and played an important role in six of his world titles. Hamilton emphasizes that such a relationship cannot be reproduced immediately. “What people don’t realize is that Bono and I worked together for over ten years. That level of trust, understanding, and communication doesn’t develop in a few months,” Hamilton said.
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‘Bono knew what I needed’
According to the Brit, a successful collaboration between driver and engineer goes far beyond exchanging information via the team radio. “Bono knew exactly what I needed, when I needed it, and sometimes even before I knew it myself.”
However, Hamilton sees clear progress in the collaboration with Santi. The Brit states that both parties are increasingly understanding each other as the season progresses. “You learn how someone communicates, what information is important, and when you want to hear that information. That’s something that takes time.”
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