Bonanomi began car racing in 2001, competing in selected rounds of the Formula Renault Eurocup and Italian Formula Renault with the Cram Competition team. He continued in both series in 2002, switching to RP Motorsport.
From 2003 to 2005 he focused on Formula Three, racing in the Italian Formula Three Championship and the Euro Series across multiple seasons. During this period he drove for former Formula One constructor Coloni and for a team operated by retired F1 driver Piercarlo Ghinzani.
In 2006 Bonanomi moved to the Euroseries 3000 with Fisichella Motor Sport. It proved to be his most successful single-season campaign in open-wheel racing: he scored six pole positions and multiple race wins from eighteen starts, ultimately finishing runner-up in the Drivers' Championship.
Bonanomi drove in four races of the 2006 Formula Renault 3.5 Series for Tech 1 Racing, beginning a pattern of competing across multiple categories simultaneously. He completed a full season in the series in 2007 with RC Motorsport, finishing 12th in the Drivers' Championship, and returned in 2008 with the Comtec team.
The 2008 Formula Renault 3.5 campaign ended dramatically at the Circuit de Catalunya season finale. Running behind Mikhail Aleshin on the front straight, Bonanomi moved to overtake and touched wheels with the Russian driver, launching his car into the air. The car struck the bottom of the scoring tower and landed upside down beside the pit exit. Bonanomi was unhurt, but the car was beyond repair and his season ended there.
In early 2008 Bonanomi drove in the GP2 Asia Series for Minardi Piquet Sports, winning the final round of the season in Dubai — the most significant race victory of his career to that point. He returned for the 2008-09 GP2 Asia Series, joining Qi-Meritus Mahara from the January Bahrain meeting as a replacement for Alex Yoong, who was unable to continue due to other commitments.
In 2007, alongside his Formula Renault 3.5 campaign, Bonanomi competed in selected rounds of the inaugural International Formula Master series, finishing 15th in the Drivers' Championship.
In later years Bonanomi's career moved into endurance racing, including appearances at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and in the FIA World Endurance Championship. In 2023 he served as a test and development driver on the Tipo 6 Isotta Frashini Italian LMH Hypercar alongside French driver Jean-Karl Vernay, with British outfit Vector Sport planning to enter the car in the 2024 WEC season.
Bonanomi's career is defined by breadth across formulas and persistence through competitive environments. His Euroseries 3000 runner-up result and his Dubai GP2 Asia victory represent the high points of a journeyman open-wheel career, while his later involvement in Hypercar development with Isotta Frashini reflects an evolution toward endurance programs at the front of sportscar racing's top tier.
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