Lewis Hamilton Explains Where the Much-Feared “It’s Hammer Time” Quote Comes From

Every Formula 1 driver has quirks or phrases or nicknames and we all come to know about it from various sources, thanks to the public nature of the sport and their lives. We, the fans, then start associating these unique quirks or phrases or nicknames with the drivers every chance we get. Many even dig deep and find the origin or meaning behind these unique traits. Similarly, Lewis Hamilton also has a phrase that we have been associating with him for ages. However, it’s time to reveal the origin of the phrase.

The phrase in question is the one that every F1 fan associates with Hamilton. It’s a phrase that strikes fear in the hearts of his opponents. “It’s hammer time.” Hamilton’s oldest Mercedes confidant, Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington, usually issues the command, after which Hamilton goes berserk. The last glimpse of that was during the 2021 Brazilian GP and we all know how that race went. Now, finally, we have the origin story of the famous catchphrase.

F1’s first video of the year with the drivers was uploaded on the Formula 1 official YouTube channel. The video was titled, “How To Talk Like An F1 Driver!”, Hamilton was asked “What is ‘Hammer Time?'”

To this, a bright-smiled Hamilton replied, “Hammer time is say my pit stop is at lap 20 or lap 25, in that moment usually they say ‘time to push’ sometimes you’re just pushing anyway. Bono would come out with these long sentences ‘Hi Lewis just to let you know that it’s time to start pushing’ and it’s like a really long bit. So I said Bono, ‘just tell me it’s hammer time’–which means push like mofo and get going.“

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So this is the story behind the phrase and its origin. Hamilton would say he named it while Bono has admitted in the past he came up with the exact phrase as Hamilton suggested something similar. However, we suppose that’s part of the banter between the most successful and longest driver-engineer relationship in the sport. A relationship Hamilton is extremely grateful for.

Lewis Hamilton expresses his gratitude for Bono, his oldest confidant

Hamilton and Bono have been working together since the day he joined Mercedes back in 2013. The two have been inseparable since and have also become the longest-serving and most successful driver-engineer pairing. They have won 6 championships together and won 82 races.

According to Hamilton, he has become “like a brother to me” and believes no one else could’ve handled his antics like Bono has for all these years.

Speaking to the media, Hamilton said, “I’m incredibly grateful for Bono, I’ve had an amazing journey with him. I think we’ve got one of the longest, if not the longest driver-engineer partnership that there’s been. He’s been hugely integral to my success.”

“He’s probably one of the few people that can truly stand me, I would say, like on the good and bad days,” added Hamilton. “How calm he’s able to be throughout the race, and how he’s been able to guide and help navigate me through a race, I don’t think there’s many people who could do that.”

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Driver and engineer pairings are often untreated and not many people talk about it. However, the two Brits are showing how a powerful pairing like theirs can make a huge impact and couple that with an even more powerful phrase and they’re unstoppable.