Mercedes have credited veteran race engineer Pete Bonnington for the impressive start made by Kimi Antonelli in his Formula 1 career.
The 18-year-old Italian has burst onto the scene, securing fifth place in the drivers’ championship after just two grands prix in the 2025 season.
Antonelli’s early results speak volumes: a fourth-place finish in Australia and a sixth in China, with a seventh in the Shanghai sprint race between them.
Those performances have earned him 22 points, leaving him well ahead of fellow rookie Ollie Bearman, who has four points, while four other newcomers remain pointless.
Despite his strong start, Antonelli is yet to claim a podium, making him the highest-placed driver in the standings without one.
Stepping into the shoes of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who departed for Ferrari, Antonelli has been paired with Bonnington, known as “Bono”, the engineer behind 83 of Hamilton’s 84 victories with Mercedes and all six of his titles with the team.
Bonnington’s pedigree runs deep, having previously worked with Michael Schumacher, another seven-time champion, and 2009 title-winner Jenson Button during the team’s Brawn GP days.
Mercedes’ trackside engineering chief Andrew Shovlin has praised Bonnington’s influence on their young star. “He’s a brilliant fit in the team, and it’s tough to follow a driver as successful as Lewis,” Shovlin said.
“For Kimi, it’s still early in his F1 journey, but he’s fortunate to have an incredibly experienced race engineer in Bono. He’s guiding Kimi on how to tackle race weekends, build speed, and fine-tune the car setup.”
Shovlin also highlighted the excitement surrounding Antonelli within the team. “Everyone’s thrilled to work with him, and he’s loving it,” he added.
“In Melbourne, he could hardly believe he was starting an F1 race. A wet debut made it even trickier, but he’s finding his feet. There’s plenty more to come from Kimi.”
Antonelli’s next challenge awaits at the Japanese Grand Prix, set for 53 laps around the 5.807-kilometre Suzuka Circuit on Sunday, 6 April, where Mercedes hope their rookie sensation can continue his rapid rise.
