Lewis Hamilton revealed the origin of the well-known radio call between him and his Mercedes race engineer.
Lewis Hamilton ended an over 12-year relationship after leaving Mercedes to join Ferrari in Formula 1. The Briton experienced moments of extreme highs and lows throughout his tenure with the team. Over the seasons, Hamilton’s race engineer came up with a term to push on-track, called ‘hammer time.’ The 39-year-old revealed the origin of this radio call between the two.
Peter Bono Bonnington and Lewis Hamilton worked closely with one another over the 12 years and shared a great bond. Bono’s radio call for ‘hammer time’ proved effective as Hamilton pushed himself extra hard and managed great improvement in pace.
After listening to the radio call one last time, the 39-year-old reckoned that he couldn’t recall the last time the race engineer said the phrase.
I noticed that as well, when he told me, I was like: I can’t even remember the last time he told me hammer-time.
Lewis Hamilton told racingnews365.com
Hamilton recalled the time when Bono first said the term and the reason behind it. The 39-year-old asked his race engineer to simplify the term to ‘push’ and just call it ‘hammer time.’ Hence, over time this phrase stuck between the two as they enjoyed many years of domination in the sport.
I remember when I told Bono to say hammer-time back in our first year together, I was like: Don’t tell me to go faster, tell me it’s hammer-time.
Lewis Hamilton added
Lewis Hamilton reflects on the ‘roller-coaster ride’ with Bono
Bono was with Lewis Hamilton the whole journey, even when he won his seventh world championship and when he was in a victory drought for almost 1000 days. Hence, Hamilton reckoned that the race engineer had been his closest friend throughout the roller-coaster ride.
What a roller-coaster ride it’s been with Bono. He’s been one of my closest friends for many years and it is something I didn’t expect to have because he worked with Michael Schumacher, other great drivers. But he stood by me and for an engineer to stick with someone as frustrating and as painful as it can sometimes be, he stood by me every single day without failing.
Lewis Hamilton noted
The 2025 season is going to be extremely positive for Hamilton after witnessing an upturn in performance from Ferrari. The Briton is believed to take the Italian constructor back to their glory days in Formula 1. Time will tell about how the seven-time world champion fares at Maranello after finishing his final days with Mercedes.
