F1 insider believes Max Verstappen would love to work with one Mercedes figure Lewis Hamilton totally adored

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Max Verstappen very briefly quietened the noise about his future at the British Grand Prix last weekend. A majestic pole lap – his fourth of the season – suggested Red Bull’s plight may not be as severe as initially feared.

But Red Bull had taken a set-up gamble by stripping the downforce off Verstappen’s car. The resulting boost in straight-line speed would have made him difficult to pass in a dry race.

However, Verstappen was left chronically short of grip when the rain arrived. He even made an extremely rare error by spinning out after the safety-car restart.

The Dutchman eventually salvaged a fifth place, but has now fallen nearly 70 points off the pace in the championship. In the end, it’s a weekend that may feed his lingering doubts about Christian Horner’s team.

Max Verstappen a big admirer of Peter Bonnington, F1 engineer says

Verstappen is clearly pondering a move to Mercedes. The Silver Arrows have openly acknowledged that talks are taking place, and the world champion has sidestepped multiple chances to spell out his commitment to Red Bull.

He’s been part of their set-up since 2014, so he’d be saying goodbye to many of his closest F1 allies if he did leave. Verstappen has been warned of a difficult transition should he move to Brackley.

But journalist Erik van Haren has heard from an F1 engineer that Verstappen would be eager to work with Peter Bonnington at Mercedes. Bonnington is currently Kimi Antonelli’s right-hand man after the departure of Lewis Hamilton.

There’s talk that Mercedes could loan Antonelli out if they sign Verstappen, potentially freeing up ‘Bono’. The 50-year-old helped Hamilton win six world championships in seven seasons between 2014 and 2020.

“Yes, I spoke to another engineer in Austria last week when GP was not there [for personal reasons],” Van Haren said. “Max worked with Simon Rennie, and he was also very happy with that because he also knows him well.

“And he also said to me: if you, as Max, were to name three race engineers [you’d like to work with], you would name GP, Simon Rennie and Bono.”

Could Max Verstappen take Gianpiero Lambiase from Red Bull to Mercedes?

Hamilton clearly adored Bonnington, with his radio messages after winning last year’s British GP summing up their bond. He tearfully said, ‘I love you Bono’, aware that the partnership would soon come to an end.

Bonnington has enjoyed working with Antonelli, but almost every F1 engineer would jump at the chance to link up with a driver of Verstappen’s talents. And Mercedes may see it as a formidable duo too.

Of course, the dream scenario for Verstappen would be to bring Gianpiero Lambiase with him. But Van Haren doesn’t think Red Bull would let him go.

“I honestly think it’s almost impossible,” he said. “Never say never in this world, but GP of course has a big position and a contract at Red Bull.”