“Unfiltered” Lewis Hamilton is ready to exploit Charles Leclerc’s “silly” move, says Martin Brundle

Formula 1 fans have praised Lewis Hamilton after a video surfaced of him reacting emotionally to his former Mercedes race engineer, Peter Bonnington, at the Mexican Grand Prix. Hamilton and Bonnington had a close relationship during Hamilton's time at Mercedes, where the engineer played a significant role in securing six of Hamilton's seven championships. Once Bonnington moved to Ferrari in 2025, he began working with Kimi Antonelli, Hamilton's successor who went on to win his first championship title at the same race.

The video showed Hamilton hugging Bonnington as he congratulated him on securing the title, the first in his career. Many fans were touched by the scene, with one commenting on Reddit, "The podium trio was fantastic." Red Bull's Max Verstappen claimed victory at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, with Hamilton finishing second and Antonelli third.

Fellow fans praised Hamilton's behavior, calling him "very classy" and noting that his reaction showed he was "putting that aside to celebrate his friends who deserve the celebration." Some fans felt a sense of bittersweetness for Bonnington, who had to return to working with a rookie engineer after spending years working with Hamilton, the "greatest F1 driver of all time." Despite the change, it appears Bonnington's partnership with Antonelli was a success, contributing to the young driver's championship win.