Who is Peter Bonnington?

In F1, it may be the driver who stands on the podium, but there are hundreds of mechanical engineering personnel behind the scenes who are responsible for giving the driver such an amazing car. There’s no better example of this than Peter Bonnington, Lewis Hamilton’s senior race engineer at Mercedes.

“OK, Lewis, it’s hammer time” may be a phrase that you are familiar with, but Bonnington does much more than give Lewis words of encouragement.

What Does Peter Bonnington Do At Mercedes?

In his role as senior race engineer, Bonnington is responsible for the set-up of the Formula One car, as well as all trackside communications to the driver. He is widely considered one of the best F1 race engineers, having engineered Hamilton to six world championships to date. Bonnington wouldn’t have got where he is today without studying his craft and taking on the opportunities presented to him.

Known as Bono because of his surname, Hamilton’s main man started off his career with Jordan Grand Prix in the early 2000s, working as a data engineer. After this, he joined Honda, becoming the understudy to Andrew Shovlin, a long-time race engineer. This resulted in him becoming Jenson Button’s performance engineer. He guided Button to his 2009 World Championship.

As you can see, working your way up in this industry is important, and that’s why many students choose mechanical engineering courses at the University of Bolton, as we ensure our students get plenty of hands-on experience. Our expert teachers deliver all the knowledge you need in a £13 million state-of-the-art facility providing a positive student experience.

By taking our BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering course, which is offered on a part-time and full-time basis, you will develop the practical and vocational knowledge and skills needed to start a career in this fast-paced, global industry. Check out our Mechanical Engineering courses for more information.

Plus, the University of Bolton features within the Top 50 best UK universities in The Guardian League Tables for 2021, so you can have peace of mind when choosing us! Our inclusive and supportive environment provides the perfect surroundings for students.

Begin Your Career With a Degree From Institute of Mechanical Engineers

If you can see yourself becoming the next Peter Bonnington, mechanical engineering apprenticeships come highly recommended. Being a trained mechanical engineer will give you an extensive amount of experience, which can open up many doors in motorsports.

The mechanical design side of an F1 team has a number of different departments, for example, electronics, controls, vehicle dynamics, suspension, aerodynamics, and more. There are several designers within each department, and each department then has engineering counterparts. There are then opportunities in terms of running the F1 car, such as mechanics, race engineers, and support engineers. This means that the opportunities are greater than a lot of people realise, so long as you have the right experience, which is where the University of Bolton comes in.

By taking a Mechanical Engineering degree at the University of Bolton, our engineering department has a strong tradition in this industry. In fact, the University of Bolton is the UK’s only National Centre for Motorsport Engineering. Your studies will take place in our multi million state-of-the-art specialist laboratories and workshops, which have been built especially for motorsport technology and automotive performance engineering.

We will encourage you to develop a full understanding of all elements of engineering projects, ranging from project management and functional design materials to the maths, science, and costings of these projects.

You will be able to develop key business skills that are essential to developing yourself in this exciting field, communicating with a range of personnel, managing workloads, problem-solving, and using innovative technology. As a consequence, our mechanical engineering graduates enjoy high levels of employment.

If you would like to find out more about our Mechanical Engineering courses, please do not hesitate to call us on +44 (0)1204 900 600 or send an email enquiries@bolton.ac.uk.