What is "Hammer Time"? All about the iconic phrase used by Lewis Hamilton's race engineer during their Mercedes partnership
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton's race engineer Peter Bonnington has often used the phrase "Hammer Time" to push the British driver during races. The seven-time F1 world champion and the Mercedes man share a special bond and have been together as a duo since the 2013 season.
The duo have an understanding that they have cultivated over time which now become synonymous with them and has led them to several world championships.
Bonnington had previously been the race engineer for Michael Schumacher in the latter's final 18 months in the sport and took the charge when Hamilton joined as the German driver's replacement.
The Origins of "Hammer Time"
Hamilton's first year with the Brackley-based outfit was a modest one given he registered a race win in Hungary and claimed several pole positions but failed to compete against the dominant Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel.
But at the beginning of the Turbo-Hybrid era in 2014, he was a regular feature on the podium with his former teammate Nico Rosberg. The two were involved in a tense battle that continued for two more years before Rosberg retired at the end of 2016.
Peter Bonnington, also known as Bono, regularly uses the phrase "Hammer Time", which he first used during the 2014 Austrian Grand Prix, in his bid to extract the maximum performance from the 39-year-old. The phrase became a feature of their radio exchanges throughout the season.
What is the meaning of Lewis Hamilton's "Hammer Time"?
In his dominant years with Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton has mastered the art of tire management and has gained an advantage over his rivals. Especially from 2017 to 2021, Bono would use the phrase "Hammer Time" just before calling Hamilton for the round of pitstops in his attempt to extract the remainder of performances from an aged tire.
In January this year, Hamilton revealed the meaning behind Bonnington's 'Hammer Time' phrase. While speaking about the phrase's origin, Lewis Hamilton referenced the iconic song ‘U Can’t Touch This’ by MC Hammer, which has the lyrics '“Stop, Hammer time”.
Hamilton revealed that since his race engineer wanted to push him harder during the end of his stints, the former would get frustrated as he was already giving his best. So the Mercedes driver suggested to Bono "‘Just tell me it’s Hammer time’ and it means push like a mofo and get going.”
Iconic instances of the phrase "Hammer Time"
During his 12-year-old long career, Lewis Hamilton pulled off some special performances on the track, and his race engineer played a crucial role as he pulled out the phrase on several occasions.
During the 2024 British GP, Bono used the phrase to push Lewis Hamilton on his out lap whilst Lando Norris came into the pits for his final pit stop. The lap was crucial as it gave the race lead and eventually the victory to the British driver.
His comeback wins at Barcelona 2021 and Hungary 2019 are two of the most iconic instances of "Hammer Time" as he attempted a two-stopper while Max Verstappen, on both occasions, was caught napping with a one-stop. On both occasions, the former world champion put in several qualifying laps in the main race to get the top honors.