‘I feel really lucky’ – Antonelli expands on what it’s like working with race engineer ‘Bono’

Kimi Antonelli has given an insight into how he has found working alongside new race engineer Pete ‘Bono’ Bonnington at Mercedes, with the rookie admitting that he feels “really lucky” to have such an experienced name to support him during his debut season.

Bonnington is a familiar voice to F1 fans, having acted as race engineer to Lewis Hamilton throughout the seven-time World Champion’s 12 years at the Silver Arrows, while prior to this he worked with Michael Schumacher during the German’s comeback stint in the sport.

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Now, following Hamilton’s departure to Ferrari, Antonelli has become the latest driver to be guided by Bonnington, something that the young Italian views as an honour.

“I think having someone like Bono, it’s amazing,” Antonelli explained during the Chinese Grand Prix weekend. “It’s a very big privilege because he has worked with two of the best drivers in the history of Formula 1 – he worked with Michael and then he worked with Lewis for so many years.

“So having someone with so much knowledge and experience, it really helps you because obviously I’ve so many new scenarios that I will have to go through, so many new scenarios that I will have to face, so many new things that I will have to learn, and having someone like him that has so much experience, definitely it’s really helpful because it can really guide you in every situation, and so I feel really lucky to have someone like him.”

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Antonelli’s rookie campaign has so far got off to a good start, the 18-year-old having claimed points on debut with P4 in Australia before again adding to his tally by taking P6 in China, despite suffering damage to the floor of his W16 early on.

When asked to reflect on how it had felt to have a positive start to his first race in Melbourne – particularly given the struggles that other new drivers faced in the treacherous conditions – Antonelli responded: “It was a big, big relief.

“It was a really intense weekend, and to come away with a good race [was a] good boost of confidence but also big relief. Now I feel a lot more calm and relaxed; I’m not going to lie, I was quite stressed and a bit tense as well while driving.

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“But now I feel more relaxed and more in control as well of the situations. There’s still a lot to learn, but definitely was a good start and I’m really looking forward for the next few races.”