Lewis Hamilton thinks he has found his "Italian Bono" in race engineer Carlo Santi, as he pinpointed a backroom shake-up as a key factor that has lifted his performance in Formula 1 this year.

Peter 'Bono' Bonnington was Hamilton's engineer throughout the latter's Mercedes stint, ending when Hamilton left Mercedes to join Ferrari for 2025.

Hamilton had a challenging maiden campaign for Ferrari last year, and there were some obvious moments - including the Monaco Grand Prix - where there seemed to be some tension between him and the pit wall.

But after a number of changes over the winter, which included a change of race engineer from Riccardo Adami to Santi (below), there has been a notable improvement that has helped Hamilton to secure two podiums so far in 2026, in China and Canada.

While Santi had originally been expected to be a temporary arrangement for Hamilton, it is understood that the way the pair have gelled together so well means the relationship is to continue for the foreseeable future.

Speaking ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, Hamilton offered some insight into why things were working so well.

“The driver-engineer working together is very, very important,” he said. “I think last year, Adami and I had a really good relationship. He's a lovely guy. We worked relatively well together.

“But I think catering to a driver's needs takes time to learn. When you're giving an engineer feedback, they're understanding through-corner balance. They're understanding all the elements that contribute to the struggles that you’ve got.

“When you try to describe what it is, the problem you have, corner by corner, entry, middle, and exit, or you dissect it into five sections if you want.”

Hamilton said that predicting how relationships would evolve with engineers was never easy, but he said that he had found something similar with Santi to what he enjoyed with his long-term Mercedes race engineer Bonnington.

“Having that driver-engineer collab, it's hit and miss sometimes,” he said. “With me and Bono, we hit it [off] right from the beginning. He had a good working relationship with Michael [Schumacher, who Bonnington engineered briefly before Hamilton at Mercedes].

“I do feel like Carlos is like my 'Italian Bono'. I told Bono that the other day - in terms of, he's a bit of an OG.

"He's an older guy that's been around the block. He's very calm. This is a detail that we were able to go into together. Our understanding of the engineering side, I think it's something that's worth remembering."

Hamilton felt that the improvements he is delivering on track this year are a direct consequence of engineering changes pushed through by Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur.

“What most people don't realise is the work that goes on that you have to do in the background,” he said.

“Fred [Vasseur, team boss] has been great. Working with me and helping me, for example, with engineers. The engineer set-up is a million times better than it was last year.

“I'm starting to see the fruits of that through driving the car. Last year, testing on the sim and asking for certain things in the car. We have those today, for example, [like] the suspension.

“It's great to be able to be a part of working with everyone to move the ship and steer it in the right direction.

“We still are sailing and we still have a long way to go. We still need to improve, for example, in some areas, but I think we're on the right path.”