Following Lewis Hamilton’s emotional farewell announcement earlier this month, Mercedes has been the hottest topic of discussion in the world of Formula 1. The Silver Arrows is still pointed right at the F1 debate tables, where F1 pundits are delving deeper and deeper into Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes contract.
Regarding Lewis Hamilton’s contract, reports indicate that Mercedes has included a ‘non-poaching’ clause for the Briton.
Mercedes’ ‘non-poaching’ clause: How does it affect Lewis Hamilton’s move?
After Lewis Hamilton’s official ‘Mercedes to Ferrari’ announcement, it was being speculated that his long-time race engineer Peter Bonnington and some senior technical personnel could follow the seven-time World Champion to Ferrari.
However, as per RacingNews365, Lewis Hamilton’s two-year contract—which he signed only last year—at Mercedes has a certain ‘non-poaching’ clause that prevents him from taking any Mercedes employee to his next F1 team.
Due to this ‘non-poaching’ clause in his contract, Hamilton cannot ask any Mercedes team member, including his mate Peter Bonnington, to join him at Ferrari in 2025.
He and his race engineer Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington has been at Mercedes since 2013. During this 11-year partnership, Bonnington has been a crucial part of his success, guiding Hamilton to 81 of his 82 Grand Prix wins with the team and all six of his titles.
They have even formed an incredible bond during this time, one which can be clearly seen in their radio conversations. One of their most famous radio speeches is Bonnington’s ‘Lewis, Its Hammer time’, which seems to work as a ‘steroid’ for Hamilton on F1 tracks.
However, Lewis Hamilton won’t be having any ‘hammer time’ at Ferrari, as his ‘Bono’ cannot join him at Italy due to the so-called ‘non-poaching’ clause in his Mercedes contract.
Why did Mercedes insert the clause?
Mercedes penned down Lewis Hamilton to this ‘non-poaching’ clause to prevent key technical personnels—who played a big part in the team’ success over the years, like Peter Bonnington—from joining Hamilton at his next possible F1 team, a.k.a., Mercedes’ rivals.
Noting Hamilton’s ‘legendary’ status and influence in Formula 1, the Silver Arrows probably thought that Hamilton would surely make his ‘personal favorites’ (from Mercedes’ camp) join him at his next F1 team, like all ‘big’ F1 stars have done in the past.
In 1996, the legendary Michael Schumacher was joined by technical director Ross Brawn and chief designer Rory Byrne, when he made the switch from Benetton to Ferrari. In 1999, Jock Clear joined Jacques Villeneuve from Williams to BAR, while Fernando Alonso, who is counted as an ‘ideal’ candidate to replace Hamilton at Mercedes in 2025, took Andrea Stella with him from Ferrari to McLaren in 2015.
Mercedes surely took note of all these follow-ups and wanted to avoid a similar shift of personnel in Hamilton’s case, and thus penned him down to the ‘non-poaching’ clause.
Can Hamilton make his ‘Bono’ wear Ferrari’s red suits with him? Will he even succeed at Ferrari if Bonnington can’t join him there? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
