“best in the business” as he attempts to guide Kimi Antonelli
through the rigours of the title race. Bonnington is unique among
F1 race engineers, in that he is the only one to work directly in
that position with the two seven-time world champions, in Michael
Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton. The Hamilton-Bonnington partnership
is the most successful in F1 history, with six drivers’ titles and
83 of Hamilton’s 84 wins for Mercedes, with Bonnington having
missed the 2019 Mexican GP win for personal reasons. Thus far in
2026, Bonnington has engineered Antonelli to five wins from seven
races and a 41-point lead in the standings over Hamilton. There
have been times, including in Canada, when battling with George
Russell, where Antonelli appeared to lose control of his emotions,
before being brought under control by Bonnington. Addressing the
impact of the veteran engineer on the young protege, Wolff
explained just why ‘Bono’ is the “best in the business.” “Bono is a
superstar; he’s worked with the greats,” Wolff told media,
including RacingNews365. “He was fortunate enough to work with
Michael and then Lewis, and now Kimi, and he is the optimum
combination of an engineer. “Nerdy when he needs to be nerdy to
look at the science and the data, but also super compassionate when
the driver needs support. “He is patient, which is also a feature
when dealing with complicated brains of drivers is necessary, but
he is also firm. “He was firm with Lewis, and he was firm with
Kimi, and drivers also need to see that there is a certain line
that they cannot crash with their race engineer. “For me,
[Bonnington] is the best in the business.”