Hamilton praises team, dedicates win to his engineer

Two weeks after Mercedes’ pit-stop fiasco at the Monaco Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton on Sunday dedicated his victory in the Canadian Grand Prix to his Mercedes team race engineer Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington and his late father.  

Bonnington was central to both Hamilton’s disappointment in Monte Carlo last month, when he looked certain to win but finished third, and his flawlessly controlled triumph at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Hamilton praised him warmly after his win for his “amazing” work just days after the death of his father.

“The team did an amazing job and I am so proud to be up here. My first Grand Prix win was here back in 2007 and to be back up here again feels really historic for me,” he said from the podium.

“I’m sure I speak for the team, too, when I want to dedicate this to my engineer Bono’s father

“I know it has been a tough weekend for him, but he has been amazing all weekend and helped me win this today. So this is really dedicated to him.”

Hamilton won the 70-lap race in controlled fashion from lights to flag, but admitted he never felt it was a comfortable race for him.

“I didn’t feel I had the most comfortable balance, there was a lot of understeer, but I never really felt too much under pressure,” he said.

“Nico was quick, but I always felt that I had it under control. I had a bit of time in my pocket to be able to pull it out when I needed to, so it was never too serious.

“I don’t know how it was to watch, but it felt like it was intense and I really enjoyed it.” – Agence France-Presse