Toto Wolff reveals Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes influence behind Brad Pitt F1 film

Toto Wolff detailed the steps which Mercedes have been involved in to give Lewis Hamilton his wish of a Brad Pitt F1 film which is “as realistic as possible”.

There is an 11th team in the Formula 1 paddock for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, but while the usual 10 are there for active F1 competition, this 11th outfit is there for the benefit of the world of film.

The ‘APXGP’ team has two garages of their own at the British GP, a nameplate apiece in place for Brad Pitt, a.k.a ‘Sonny Hayes’, and Damson Idris, or ‘Joshua Pearce’ as his character will be called, with filming commencing for the project this weekend.

Mercedes lend a major helping hand for Brad Pitt F1 film

Mercedes’ seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton serves as a co-producer for this movie, so it was of little surprise to hear Wolff say that Hamilton wanted it to reflect the world of F1 as accurately as possible.

And on the path to that, Wolff detailed the range of steps Mercedes were involved in, including Pitt being sent to a driving school and helping with the production of the modified Formula 2 cars which will be used for this film.

PlanetF1.com recommends

F1 2023: Head-to-head qualifying and race stats between team-mates

F1 fastest lap: Which drivers have won the most fastest lap points in F1 2023?

Asked about this Mercedes involvement in the F2 cars and how excited he is to see the film production now in action, Wolff told reporters including PlanetF1.com: “Yeah, we’ve been involved pretty early.

“When we had the first discussions we sent Brad to a driving school in France, going through the formula cars from Formula 4, all the way up, and I think that was important and we tried to be helpful with the narrative.

“Lewis is an executive producer, so he wanted to make sure that whenever the movie comes out, it’s as realistic as possible.

“And we have a few laughs, but I think it’s a very, very good narrative, and then the effort we have put in, we helped them, with a few friends that we have, to do the F2 car and build the bodywork around it so that it looks like a Formula 1 car.

“And then the garages and the people who were looking at that, we tried to be helpful with the designs so they could be as realistic as possible.

“But yeah, massive, when you go in the garage and the whole setup behind it, it’s unbelievable.”

Hamilton will be going in search of a ninth British GP win this weekend, which would see him set a new record for the most wins by an F1 driver at a single grand prix.

Read next –Hamilton v Verstappen: Guenther Steiner gives instant answer when asked to choose between rivals