'Bono' will not follow Hamilton to Ferrari next season

ZANDVOORT, Netherlands : Lewis Hamilton's long-time race engineer Peter Bonnington, generally known as 'Bono', has been given a new job at Mercedes and will not follow the seven-times Formula One world champion to Ferrari next season.

A team spokesperson said on Wednesday that the promotion, to head of race engineering, had been announced internally before the August break.

Bonnington will continue working with Hamilton until the end of the season when the 39-year-old British driver moves to Maranello and his third team in Formula One after starting with McLaren in 2007.

The pair have been together through Hamilton's 12 years at Mercedes and their radio exchanges, with the 'Hammer Time' call to go flat out, have become part of the language of the sport for a global television audience.

Mercedes have yet to announce Hamilton's replacement, although Andrea Kimi Antonelli is the strong favourite. The Italian turns 18 on Sunday and could take part in the following Friday practice at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

The Formula One season resumes this weekend with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, a home race for Red Bull's Max Verstappen.