Mercedes' Toto Wolff Left Embarrassed by His Cameo Scene in F1 Movie
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Mercedes AMG Formula One team principal Toto Wolff has opened up on his cameo scene in the F1 movie, revealing that it makes him "cringe" every time he watches it.
The F1 movie made big headlines in the world of entertainment and premier-class racing, with the box office collection nearing $600 million. The movie became popular for its F1 realism, given that its co-producer, Lewis Hamilton, was in charge of ensuring the movie portrayed the sport in the most realistic way.
Filming took place on actual Grand Prix weekends to ensure everything looked genuine, including the other drivers and teams. Brad Pitt, playing the role of veteran driver Sonny Hayes, is called into the APXGP F1 team to transform it into a winning outfit and help rookie driver Joshua Pearce, played by Damson Idris.
Wolff's cameo role arrived after Pearce crashed out in the final stages of the season finale in Abu Dhabi, which then helped his teammate Hayes win the race. The Mercedes team boss offered Pearce a seat in his team for the following season, which Pearce refused. While the scene looked legitimate, Wolff was unhappy with the details. Speaking about his brief appearance in the Wall Street Journal, as quoted by Planet F1, he said:
Toto Wolff Team Principal of Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team looks on during the Qualifying Session ahead F1 Grand Prix of Monaco at Circuit de Monaco on May 24, 2025 in Monte-Carlo, Monaco.
Toto Wolff Team Principal of Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team looks on during the Qualifying Session ahead F1 Grand Prix of Monaco at Circuit de Monaco on May 24, 2025 in Monte-Carlo, Monaco.
Emmanuele Ciancaglini/"At the end I have this little cameo.
"They say it's great, but I think they're lying to me. It makes me cringe. It was in Abu Dhabi after the race. There was no hair and makeup.
"They were like, 'Let's do this now.'
"They were a bit annoyed with me because I think I did the scene five times. I wanted it to be good — not that the outcome actually was good."
While the perfectionist in Wolff pushed the crew for several retakes, one of F1's co-producers, Jerry Bruckheimer, opened up about how specific Hamilton was during the filming of the movie to ensure all details synced with real-world Grand Prix racing. Newsweek Sports reported his comments:
"Lewis Hamilton saw a part of it and gave us a critique of how the drivers actually do various things. The level of specifics that he gave us, like in Silverstone in Turn 3 you're in second gear, and he could hear with his ear we [Pitt] were in third gear.
"So it's that kind of thing that he's bringing to the movie. And he said... when he finishes a race, especially like Singapore, where it's very hot, he can barely get out of the car, they lose 10 pounds... and it's not only him, it's all of them. They're just completely exhausted [and] we're going to show what it takes to be an F1 driver."
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