‘Shut up’ command showed Hamilton he was ready to win, Mercedes engineer says

SILVERSTONE, United Kingdom (AFP) — Lewis Hamilton showed he was in winning mood at the British Grand Prix on Sunday when he spoke to his engineer on the team radio.

“When I’m told to shut up, I know the game is on and it’s all about winning,” said long-time Mercedes race engineer Peter Bonnington, or Bono as he is known, 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 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’s going to manage the tires and get 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 principal 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.

“You couldn’t write a better farewell 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 the most iconic and successful British 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 said it was a shame Mercedes could not have a second car in the top three after George Russell retired with a water pressure problem.

“Performance-wise it feels like we’re coming back,” he said after the team’s second straight win, Russell having won in Austria a week earlier.