George Russell spots Lewis Hamilton problem after Bono’s Mercedes promotion

Lewis Hamilton studies the data in the Mercedes garage

George Russell thinks Lewis Hamilton will need some time to adjust working with a new race engineer after swapping Mercedes for Ferrari for the F1 2025 season.

It comes after Hamilton‘s long-serving race engineer Pete Bonnington was rewarded with a promotion by Mercedes, ending suggestions that he could follow the seven-time World Champion to Maranello.

Lewis Hamilton set for new race engineer at Ferrari in F1 2025

Additional reporting by Sam Cooper

Hamilton announced in February that he will join Ferrari on a multi-year contract from F1 2025, ending his long and successful association with Mercedes.

The British driver has won six of his seven World Championships with Mercedes, as well as becoming the first man to surpass 100 grand prix victories and pole positions, since joining from McLaren in 2013.

PlanetF1.com revealed in the days after Hamilton’s move was announced that a ‘no-poaching’ clause in his Mercedes contract forbids him from having any direct involvement in persuading Mercedes staff to follow him to Ferrari.

Analysis: Lewis Hamilton swaps Mercedes for Ferrari

 Revealed: The remarkable 36-hour timeline behind Lewis Hamilton’s shock Ferrari move

 Lewis Hamilton now finally has a chance to escape the ghosts of Abu Dhabi 2021

And, first reported by PlanetF1.com on Wednesday, Bonnington has now been promoted to the role of head of race engineering with immediate effect, though he will continue to work closely with Hamilton for the remainder of the F1 2024 season.

Bonnington is also poised to serve as race engineer to one of Mercedes’ two drivers – most likely Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the teenage sensation expected to be confirmed as Hamilton’s successor within weeks – in F1 2025.

Hamilton, meanwhile, is expected to inherit Williams-bound Carlos Sainz’s current race engineer, Riccardo Adami, at Ferrari next season.

Adami previously worked with Sebastian Vettel during the four-time World Champion’s six-year spell at Ferrari between 2015 and 2020, with F1 reporter Giuliano Duchessa claiming earlier this year that Hamilton had approached Vettel “some time ago” to gain an initial impression of Adami.

Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com ahead of this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, Russell claimed that Hamilton will need to take time to adapt to a new race engineer having struck up a close bond with Bonnington at Mercedes.

He said: “I think relationships take time to build and trust and respect takes time to earn as well.

“With any change of job as such, when you’re working with new co-workers it does take time to learn.

“[Hamilton and Bonnington are] obviously extremely close after everything they’ve gone through.”

Russell is excited by the prospect of working more closely with Bonnington in the race engineer’s broader role, with the Brackley stalwart set to take greater responsibility at Mercedes in F1 2025.

Bonnington acted as race engineer to Russell during the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix weekend, when the then-Williams driver deputised for an unwell Hamilton.

Russell added: “Bono’s obviously been an integral part of the team’s success for so, so many years – and even before the Mercedes days, back at Brawn as well – and it’s great news that he’s staying on with us next year.

“Obviously, there were a lot of rumours and speculation about if he would go with Lewis, but I think there’s only a real benefit to me having that promotion for Bono.

“It’s almost having an extra set of eyes overlooking the work we’re doing and I think it’s only going to strengthen our squad even further.”

Russell’s comments come after reports in Italy claimed Ferrari’s plans for their F1 2025 car – codenamed ‘Project 677’ – are advanced, with the Scuderia set to run a revised wheelbase and switch to a pullrod front suspension next season.

A milestone moment…

Lewis Hamilton's first Ferrari Formula 1 car has a name.https://t.co/d3oa4kWegV #F1 #LewisHamilton #Ferrari #Mercedes pic.twitter.com/BXcGqMGSto

— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) August 20, 2024

A pullrod front suspension, currently used by the likes of Red Bull and McLaren, is believed to bring a significant aerodynamic benefit, improving the airflow at the front of the car and specifically the complex underfloor, which generates a high proportion of the car’s overall downforce under the current ground-effect regulations.

The move has reportedly been influenced by Hamilton’s arrival, with the seven-time World Champion’s driving style aligned more closely to that of F1 2025 team-mate Charles Leclerc than Sainz.

Ferrari’s suspension choices under former technical director Enrico Cardile have been scrutinised throughout the ground-effect era, with the Scuderia and customer outfit Haas the only teams persisting with a pullrod rear suspension.

The other eight teams on the F1 2024 grid all compete with a pushrod suspension layout at the rear.

Cardile announced last month that he will join Aston Martin for F1 2025, with former Mercedes man Loic Serra set to inherit his responsibilities as technical boss at Ferrari.

Hamilton is believed to have a close relationship with Serra, who reportedly shared the seven-time World Champion’s concerns over the zero-pod design concept pursued by Mercedes under the technical leadership of Mike Elliott in 2022/23.

Serra could split responsibilities with head of aerodynamics Diego Tondi and chief project engineer Fabio Montecchi, with Ferrari considering a model of McLaren’s technical structure.

Read next: Why Pete Bonnington’s split with Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes commitment comes as no surprise