Peter \u2018Bono\u2019 Bonnington celebrated his birthday in Bahrain, and that meant Kimi Antonelli had another prank up his sleeve.<\/p>\n
Only, this time, Bono already had his revenge plan in place. It involved hot sauce and a water bottle, with Lewis Hamilton there to watch the hilarious fun and games unfold down at his former team, Mercedes.<\/p>\n
Bono bites back as Lewis Hamilton watches on<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for news you can trust.<\/p>\n Bono was the long-serving race engineer to Hamilton, who won six of his seven World Championship titles as a Mercedes driver.<\/p>\n But, when Hamilton moved on for pastures new at Ferrari, Bono continued in his role alongside Hamilton\u2019s replacement, Kimi Antonelli.<\/p>\n Skip back a year, and Antonelli celebrated Bono\u2019s first birthday to fall during their alliance with a cream cake prank, giving him a plate full to the face.<\/p>\n Bono was again celebrating his birthday during F1 2026 testing in Bahrain. This time, Antonelli marked the occasion the next day by soaking his race engineer with a water gun.<\/p>\n A Mercedes social media video captured the moment, and Antonelli\u2019s apprehension as he realised that a receipt was coming. Bono was on his tail with a fire extinguisher in hand.<\/p>\n Antonelli escaped, but soon locked eyes with a now unarmed Bono down the hall.<\/p>\n \u201cNo it\u2019s okay, enough, enough,\u201d said Antonelli. \u201cYou are making a plan. I don\u2019t like this.\u201d<\/p>\n A familiar face had stopped by at Mercedes in the form of Lewis Hamilton. Antonelli quickly grabbed his attention and they began having a chat about the water gun, as Antonelli sent a squirt in the direction of a team member.<\/p>\n \u201cI love this thing,\u201d Hamilton declared, as he questioned whether it was electronic. Antonelli confirmed that it was not.<\/p>\n Bono used that distraction to bolt for the water gun. He was successful, as Hamilton turned into Antonelli\u2019s human shield. Smart.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve come all this way to say hi to you man. Happy birthday for the other day,\u201d said Hamilton as he and Bono embraced, the duo having achieved record-breaking success together in Mercedes colours.<\/p>\n But, even that amount of feel-good was not about to get Antonelli off the hook.<\/p>\n Latest Bahrain F1 testing reaction via PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n F1 testing conclusions: Bring back V10s, fresh Aston Martin hope, secret Ferrari weapon<\/a><\/p>\n F1 testing 2026: How each team performed over six days of running<\/a><\/p>\n Bono had prepared his revenge. He had slipped hot sauce into Antonelli\u2019s water bottle.<\/p>\n Antonelli soon began coughing and spluttering after several sips, and gave an X-rated outburst as he realised that he had been pranked back.<\/p>\n \u201cNo water man. Just deal with it man!\u201d Hamilton told the teenage Italian.<\/p>\n How the tables had turned.<\/p>\n \u201cI hate spice. I can\u2019t eat spice,\u201d said Antonelli. He didn\u2019t get much choice in the matter on this occasion.<\/p>\n \u201cMan, I\u2019m literally sweating. My chest is burning.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLive by the sword. Die by the sword.\u201d Those were Bono\u2019s words of wisdom to Antonelli.<\/p>\n No doubt Antonelli will tread more carefully in future when it comes to pranking Bono.<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n