Lewis Hamilton threatens to force Bono replacement out immediately as Ferrari given difficult task
Lewis Hamilton will have a new race engineer next year
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Lewis Hamilton has warned Ferrari that he will not be afraid of pushing for a new race engineer if he fails to get along with their first pick when he joins next year.
Mercedes promoted Peter 'Bono' Bonnington this week to become their new head of race engineering, preventing Ferrari from potentially snapping him up to continue working with Hamilton.
Bonnington and Hamilton have been working together at Mercedes for 12 years since the latter joined in 2012.
The race engineer has become synonymous with Hamilton's illustrious career and is one of the most recognisable voices in the sport.
Lewis Hamilton will have a new race engineer next year
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But Hamilton will have to find a new race engineer when he leaves Mercedes for Ferrari.
And the seven-time world champion isn't afraid to ruffle some feathers at his new team if he feels his new race engineer isn't a good fit.
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"It's got to be someone you get on with, it's got to be someone that you are ultimately able to find it easy to build a relationship with and trust," he said.
"It's going to be a discovery process to find the next one.
"I’ll know early on whether it's going to work or not and I think it's just about communicating."
Hamilton has also revealed that he would have 'loved to have continued with Bono', but is ultimately happy for his close friend.
He added: “We have a great relationship.
“He’s like a brother. But I’m really, really, really happy for him.
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Lewis Hamilton has been working with Peter Bonnington for 12 years
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"For me, I think it’s just about people doing what’s best for you. You have to do whatever’s best for you.
“Packing up and leaving, I can only imagine it’s not him and his partner. And it impacts both of them. So they have to do whatever’s right for him.
“So I knew it would be an unlikely scenario that he would go with me because it’s such a drastic change in his life.
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“But I’m really happy for us if the team have acknowledged and made changes to his pathway within the team. So he can grow more within us."