With or without you: Missing Bono, Mercedes’ depth shines through

The relationship between a driver and his race engineer is arguably the most important in all of Formula 1.

Many great partnerships have been forged over the years. Think Felipe Massa and Rob Smedley at Williams and Ferrari, or Sebastian Vettel and Guillaume Rocquelin at Red Bull.

But none have enjoyed the kind of success that Lewis Hamilton and Pete Bonnington have together at Mercedes over the past six years, making the latter’s absence in Mexico last weekend all the more notable.

Affectionately known as ‘Bono’, Bonnington has worked with Hamilton throughout his time at Mercedes, acting as a calming, trusted voice on the other end of the radio. Hamilton has praised Bonnington for being “the best filter” in the past, knowing how to manage his driver’s emotions at the tensest of moments. “OK Lewis, it’s Hammertime” and the much-used “get in there Lewis!” have become phrases so well known, they are now part of F1’s wider lexicon.

Mercedes confirmed on Friday that Hamilton would be without Bonnington for the first time since joining the team. Bonnington had remained in the UK to undergo a medical procedure that would also rule him out of the next race in the United States. The chances were (and still are) that he would miss his driver being crowned world champion for the sixth time.

But Mercedes quickly sprung into action. Hamilton’s regular performance engineer, Marcus Dudley, would be stepping into Bonnington’s shoes for the weekend. Dudley was the logical replacement given how closely he has worked with Hamilton and Bonnington in the past, often spotted stood next to the latter in the garage. Dudley, in turn, was replaced by Dom Riefstahl, who usually heads up Mercedes’ race operations back at Brackley on race weekends.

“Bono has been there with me for seven years, so it’s the longest working relationship that I’ve had with an engineer,” Hamilton said on Saturday. “It definitely feels weird coming into this weekend knowing that we’ve experienced so much together and achieved so much together. But he’s here with us in spirit and he’s worked so hard last week, along with Marcus, who has done a fantastic job so far this weekend, he’s really stepped up to the plate.

“It’s going to be quite nerve-wracking because those are quite big shoes to fill. But the guys are really taking it in their stride.”

Dudley’s role in Hamilton’s stunning victory cannot be understated. The decision to bring Hamilton into the pits so early and move onto the Hard tyre was a joint one from the Mercedes strategists, headed up by James Vowles, and was inspired by the low levels of degradation seen in Daniel Ricciardo’s opening stint. The team knew it was a risk, but felt it was one worth taking.

Hamilton’s concern became clear as soon as he left the pits, having realised the plan was to go 47 full laps on the Hards. He radioed the pit wall on at least three occasions to express his doubt. “It feels like we stopped way too early,” Hamilton said. “Are these tyres meant to go that many laps?”

“Affirm,” replied Dudley, calmly. “Deg is very low.”

Vowles popped onto the radio briefly to assure Hamilton of the strategy, leaving the Briton to get his head down and work through the final stint. Hamilton kept enough in his tyres in case of a late charge from Vettel, who had a 14-lap tyre advantage but continued to turn in personal bests in the closing stages. Dudley radioed his driver a couple of times to praise his work, prompting Hamilton to ask he be left alone en route to the chequered flag.

And then, jubilation. The 10th win for Hamilton this year; the 100th win for Mercedes in F1; and for Dudley, the first victory as a race engineer at his first attempt.

“I had some big shoes to fill, but I hope I've done half as good a job as Bono,” Dudley said over the radio after the race.

“You did a fantastic job, man,” said Hamilton. “Thank you. You both did.”

Mercedes F1 chief Toto Wolff has spoken before about the challenge of keeping Hamilton calm during races, saying it was one the team was happy to contend with. “When you’re out there in the car alone, and you have not great visibility what is happening around you, even for the best ones, it’s good to get reassurance,” Wolff said after the race in Mexico. “I think that this kind of psychology works.”

Wolff then quickly heaped praise on Dudley. “[He did a] phenomenal job. Not easy, managing Lewis in the race. But it shows that we have a strength, deep strength in the team.

“[With] Bono stepping to the side for one race and handing over the baton, Marcus did a really good job together with Dom, his data engineer.”

It was a brilliant show of depth by Mercedes – if unsurprising. The entire team works in such a fashion, maintaining such high standards throughout. If a link is broken, there is a plan in place to repair it. It’s the kind of strength that wins you six constructors’ titles on the bounce.