Formula 1: ‘Shut up’ command showed Lewis Hamilton was ready to win, engineer says

Lewis Hamilton showed he was in winning mood at the British Grand Prix on Sunday when he took aim at his engineer over the team radio.

“When I’m told to shut up, I know the game is on and he’s aiming for victory,” Mercedes race engineer Peter Bonnington said after Hamilton’s “fairytale” triumph.

‘Bono’ and the tearful seven-time champion shared a champagne-soaked podium after their 83rd win together, having endured 945 days without a victory since their last triumph at the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

“It’s been a long time and he and I have worked hard to get back here,” Bonnington said. “It’s baby steps, but it’s taken a lot!”

In a fast-paced race with changing conditions, Hamilton and Bonnington preserved their positions and tyres, then took the lead with a bold tyre change in the closing laps.

It was then that Bonnington knew his driver’s long wait for victory was imminent.

“He does a great job at the finish line,” he said. “He’s the one who manages the tires and gets you to the finish.”

“I wouldn’t say there was no doubt, but I knew that once he had the bit between his teeth – once I was told to ‘shut up’ – then I knew the game was on.”

In that final stint, Hamilton overtook McLaren’s Lando Norris and held off three-time champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull to claim a record ninth British Grand Prix victory and a record 104th career win.

Team boss Toto Wolff has maintained faith in Lewis despite the 39-year-old Briton’s decision to leave for Ferrari at the end of this season.

“We couldn’t have written a better farewell to the British Grand Prix after 12 years, it was brilliant,” said Wolff.

“This is our last British Grand Prix together and the conclusion feels like a fairy tale. We leave the British public with Britain’s most iconic and successful driver.

“He’s a fantastic rider and when he feels he can win a Grand Prix, that’s when he’s at his strongest.”

Wolff added that it was a shame Mercedes could not have a second car in the top three after George Russell retired with a water pressure problem.