Lewis Hamilton labels Ferrari engineer ‘Italian Bono’ as set-up becomes ‘a million times better’

Lewis Hamilton believes he has found an “Italian Bono” at Ferrari after praising race engineer Carlo Santi for helping unlock his best form since joining Ferrari.

Hamilton compared Santi to former Mercedes race engineer Pete Bonnington and said Ferrari’s engineering set-up is “a million times better” than it was during his first season with the team.

Lewis Hamilton Ferrari engineer Carlo Santi praised as ‘Italian Bono’

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Hamilton formed one of Formula 1’s most successful driver-engineer partnerships alongside Bonnington during his time at Mercedes.

Together, the pair netted six world championships and almost 100 race wins from 2013 to 2024.

Adami took on the role when Hamilton arrived at Maranello, but the partnership never fully clicked and was marked by several tense radio exchanges during the 2025 season.

Changes for the current season saw Santi step into the role.

Speaking in Monaco, Hamilton explained why he believes a strong driver-engineer relationship is so important and compared Santi to longtime Mercedes confidant Bonnington.

“Having that driver-engineer collab, it’s hit and miss sometimes,” he said.

“With me and Bono, we hit it right from the beginning; he had a good working relationship with Michael [Schumacher].

“I do feel like Carlo is like my ‘Italian Bono’. I told Bono that the other day in terms of, he’s a bit of an OG.

“He’s an older guy that’s been around the block. He’s very calm. This is a detail that we were able to go into together.

“Our understanding of the engineering side, I think it’s something that’s worth remembering.”

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The change appears to have paid dividends, with Hamilton enjoying his strongest spell since joining Ferrari.

He credits that to the work the team has done, especially team boss Fred Vasseur, to accommodate him at the squad.

“Fred has been great, working with me and helping me, for example, with engineers,” Hamilton explained.

“The engineer set-up is a million times better than it was last year.

“I’m starting to see the fruits of that through driving the car.

“Last year, testing on the sim and asking for certain things in the car, we have those today [like], for example, the suspension.

“It’s great to be able to be a part of working with everyone to move the ship and steer it in the right direction.

“We still have a long way to go, we still need to improve in some areas, but I think we’re on the right path.”

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