Toto Wolff Reveals How He Was Instrumental in Training Brad Pitt for Lewis Hamilton’s $140,000,000 Movie Role

Sabyasachi Biswas | 09/07/2023
Toto Wolff Reveals How He Was Instrumental in Training Brad Pitt for Lewis Hamilton's $140,000,000 Movie Role

Toto Wolff has recently opened up on how he played a big part in training Brad Pitt for the upcoming Lewis Hamilton movie, for which Apple has bought rights for $140,000,000. Pitt has recently been spotted at Silverstone during the ongoing British Grand Prix. Wolff received questions on how they have prepared the actor for his role, given that Mercedes is believed to have logistically helped in the movie making.

As Pitt was seen at the circuit, the media couldn’t help but have ultimate curiosity surrounding the Oscar winner. The American sensation arrived in the United Kingdom as he inches closer to bringing a fine union between Hollywood and Racing.

Admittedly, the American actor has arrived at the circuit as he plays the Grand Prix role in the movie named Apex. Mercedes driver Hamilton is the executive producer of the movie and has revealed that he is consulting the production team over the technicality of the sport.

Since the movie is in a realistic setting and the seven-time world champion wants it to feel as real as possible, Mercedes and Apple, who won the race for the producer, want to leave no stone unturned in their efforts to make Apex a blockbuster.

Wolff played a big part in shaping Pitt

Even though the movie was based on a realistic setting, that didn’t mean an actor could drive an F1 car like a pro. Since it wasn’t possible, Mercedes, with the suggestion of Fred Vasseur, rebuilt an F2 car. With this, they gave the car an identical F1 look. However, an F2 car is too extreme to drive for a mere mortal, and this is where the Mercedes boss decided to step up.

Speaking about it during the British Grand Prix press conference, the Billionaire boss revealed, “We sent Brad [Pitt] in a driving school in France. Going through the Formula cars, from Formula 4 to all the way up and I think that was important.”

The 51-year-old, who was a racing driver himself, is very closely connected with the racing world for decades; he very well knows the in and out of racing. Hence, his addition to the movie making that is based on racing has proven to be a solid impetus for Pitt, Hamilton, and Apple altogether.

Wolff and his motorsport career

Besides having a brilliant team principal career, the Mercedes boss was also an eminent racer. Wolff started his motorsport career in 1992 when he participated in the 1992 Formula Ford Championship. In 1994, he won the 24 Hours Nurburgring in this category.

He also participated in the FIA GT Championship, Italian GT Championship, and then the 2006 Dubai 24 Hour. Interestingly, at this point of his career, Wolff was also sponsored by Red Bull as he donned blue overalls, and his car had the Energy drink company’s branding.

However, the Austrian’s racing career came to a premature end as he ran out of money and was forced to quit. Following this, he began his career in investment, and soon after, he found footing yet again in motorsport. Apart from winning multiple accolades, the team principal Toto Wolff now owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 team.

Post Edited By: Tanish Chachra
Brad Pitt Lewis Hamilton Toto Wolff

About the author

Avatar photo

Sabyasachi Biswas

Sabyasachi Biswas is an F1 journalist at The SportsRush. With over one and a half decades of love for the sport and five years of experience in the field, he dreams to be a regular at the paddock when the lights go out. A Red Bull fan and F1 fan in general over the years, he enjoyed watching Felipe Massa, Sebastian Vettel, and Max Verstappen dominate the track. Apart from F1, he's also a big-time Madridista and Federer fanatic. He was a sub-junior level footballer, won inter-district quizzes and debate competitions back in school. A travel freak throughout, he tries different cuisines and learns new cultures whenever he's away from the keyboard.

Don’t miss these