Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s rise in Formula 1 gained another chapter of praise after the Miami GP. For Juan Pablo Montoya, the strong performance of the young Mercedes driver is directly related to the experience of Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington, the historic engineer of the German team.
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After a start surrounded by pressure and doubts last year, Antonelli quickly managed to establish himself in the main motorsport category. The nineteen-year-old Italian has already made history by becoming the youngest driver to lead the championship, as well as opening a twenty-point lead over teammate George Russell.
During a participation in the BBC Chequered Flag podcast, Montoya highlighted Bonnington’s impact on the rookie’s growth. The engineer worked for many years alongside Lewis Hamilton and, according to the Colombian, has been fundamental in Antonelli’s adaptation to Formula 1: “I think Bono is a big part of that. I think Bono won a lot with Lewis and is shaping Kimi and working with him,” said the former Formula 1 driver.
Montoya also praised the aggressive stance of the young Mercedes driver, especially in the fast qualifying laps. According to him, Antonelli shows a high level of commitment by exploring the track limits more intensely than his rivals: “What Kimi has very good is the level of aggressiveness, he is determined. If you look at him in qualifying, the amount of track he was using compared to everyone else, he was using the entire track,” he added.
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The Colombian also commented on the difference in approach between Antonelli and Russell. For Montoya, even having access to the data and images of his teammate, the Brit would need to take more risks to reach the same level of performance presented by the Italian.
“I was surprised because George has the videos, the data and everything else, he can see where Kimi is going and all. At some point, you need to try. Being comfortable or not is another story, but at least you need to do a lap and understand how to make it work,” he added.
Bonnington built a long career within Mercedes. Before working with Hamilton, the engineer worked alongside Michael Schumacher and later directly participated in six of the seven titles won by the Brit in Formula 1.
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