The Mercedes F1 team continue to have a below par season as they currently find themselves second in the championship with 203 points, a whopping 208 points behind leaders Red Bull. And as the Silver Arrows’ struggles continue, they have now seemingly shifted some of their attention to helping Hollywood actor Brad Pitt with his upcoming F1 movie. Star Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has not only been helping Pitt and his film crew with the shooting of this movie but also in helping team principal Toto Wolff to join in as a co-producer.
Wolff recently revealed the same in a recent interview and explained why he was excited to join in as well. And along with joining as a co-producer, Wolff too has helped Pitt greatly in shooting the film.
While speaking at a press conference during the British Grand Prix weekend, the Austrian team principal revealed that he sent Pitt to a driving school in France to understand the Formula cars. Wolff believes such an insight is useful to help Pitt act better in the film. And with Wolff now joining in as a co-producer, it just suggests that this upcoming film promises to be a good one.
Wolff explains how Hamilton helped him become a co-producer
While speaking to Sky Germany (as quoted by silverarrows.net), Toto Wolff said, “Penny, Lewis’s manager, made me one (a co-producer). And of course, we helped the team with the car. I will try to stay in the seat [during the credits] for a long time to find my name there“.
The 51-year-old then went on to add why he was keen to join as a co-producer of the film. Wolff stated that he wanted to get his name on the credits page as this upcoming film has some real promise. However, such a move from Wolff and Lewis Hamilton has not gone down well with some of the fans.
Better get the Car working properly instead of getting involved in making movies 🎥🤷♂️
— Richie (@RichardGregan2) July 15, 2023
Some of the fans such as Richie believe that they would have rather seen the Mercedes team focus on making the car “better” rather than becoming “involved in making movies“. Hence, it seems clear that fans are solely keen to see their favorite team return to the top.
How soon can Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton return to the top?
According to Williams team principal James Vowles, who was previously at Mercedes, his former team will take at least another year to return to the top and challenge Red Bull. While speaking to L’Equipe (as quoted by gpfans.com), Vowles said, “I think Mercedes lost a year of development, while I was there simply because the direction they took was very different from that of the rest of the peloton“.
And when it comes to Lewis Hamilton, he too has been insistent on wanting his team to focus on next year’s car, so that they are in a position to fight Red Bull for the championship. Since the Briton has currently won a joint record of seven world championships, he is desperate to win another to hold the record to himself.
However, it seems that the 38-year-old will have to remain extremely patient as Mercedes have found it difficult to find the right way of developing the car. And hence, there is a possibility that he may not be able to challenge for the world title even the next season.
