Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff both joined Mercedes in 2013, kickstarting an unprecedented era of dominance and developing a close off-track friendship over the years. With that association ending, Wolff took a trip down memory lane to reveal how his star driver once surprised him with a high-end two-wheeler.
Wolff is the Team Principal for Mercedes in F1 but loves his bikes. That’s what he told American actor Dax Shepard recently. When he asked Wolff what kind of bikes he drives, the 52-year-old revealed he had an MV Agusta.
But it wasn’t just any MV Agusta. It was a special collaboration between the Italian company and Hamilton from 2015, which saw them make just 44 units — a nod to Hamilton’s racing number in F1.
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) May 25, 2018
Hamilton had decided to gift his boss one of the special MV Agustas — which cost $72k — during a dinner at Wolff’s house in Monaco. “He rings at the door and says, come down, please. And I’m saying, no, come up. We’ll, we’ll we are up here. Come up to the party. No, no, there’s really something I’d like to show you,” Wolff said on Shepard’s podcast.
“So we are, we are going down Susie [his wife] with me and he’s there with his bike and it’s an MV Agusta Lewis Hamilton edition,” he added.
Hamilton also wanted Wolff to have the first edition, as the Austrian said. “I’ve never given you a gift, so I want to give you the number one of a 44 edition,” Hamilton had said, per Wolff.
Ending of an alliance
Wolff and Hamilton’s partnership came to an end with the conclusion of the Abu Dhabi GP on Sunday, as the seven-time World Champion had already announced he would be moving to Ferrari in 2025. Although their professional relationship terminated, it marked the start of something new — Wolff cheering for a rival team.
This exchange between Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff ❤#AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/m1D76uEicu
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) December 8, 2024
There is a catch, however. Mercedes can’t win for that to happen. But as he admitted following the season finale, if Mercedes cannot compete at the front, Hamilton would be the driver he will root for.
