Do you recall how just weeks ago, Toto Wolff suggested that discussing contract details with Lewis Hamilton feels wrong because of the personal relationship they share? Well, that relationship did escalate quite quickly as Toto Wolff snubs Lewis Hamilton’s $140 million venture with Brad Pitt amid the ongoing tussle with him as the Austrian cited safety concerns. What did Toto Wolff say?
The situation at Mercedes between Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton is still in the air. Ever since the public reprimand given to Hamilton during the Austrian GP by the Mercedes CEO, speculation of a feud between the two has been going on. With such a sensitive situation between the two, Toto Wolff has now come out with statements putting Hamilton’s 140 Million dollar venture at risk.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has added safety to the debate about an 11th F1 team, suggesting that circuits will be too crowded with 22 cars in the field ❌#F1 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/Ed4mVsjCfY
— Autosport (@autosport) July 7, 2023
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Lewis Hamilton’s F1-themed movie’s racing scenes will be shot this weekend during the British GP. Brad Pitt will be driving as the 11th team in an F2 modified F1 car developed by Mercedes. The Hollywood star will be driving during the formation lap. The project’s budget is said to be 140 Million dollars. Nonetheless, Toto Wolff added fuel to the tussle with Hamilton by suggesting that with 11 cars the grid just became too crowded and that there’s a safety concern attached to it as well.
According to @autosport’s Tweet, Toto Wolff said “Our position was very clear. Buy a team. There are a lot of consequences when you look at qualifying sessions. We are tripping over each other. There is a safety concern.”
This doesn’t only serve as bad news for Lewis Hamilton’s venture but also for Andretti, who is trying to join F1 as the 11th constructor. However many teams have raised concerns about them joining. Let’s see what the concerns are.
Concerns around the Andretti Team joining Formula 1.
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Christian Horner along with many others are concerned about the dilution of the other teams when Andretti joins F1. While the entry fee for a team in F1 is set at $200 Million which makes up for the dilution, the value was set a couple of years ago. Since then F1 has grown significantly and has become the fastest-growing sport. More than half of the grid has a valuation of over a Billion dollars with teams like Ferrari valued beyond $3 Billion.
Teams have asked for the entry fee to be set at $600 Million for Andretti. Christian Horner also raised the concern about the smaller teams being at significant risk of dilution compared to the bigger ones. And now Toto Wolff suggests that 22 cars on the grid isn’t feasible and is risky.
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Watch this Story: Lewis Hamilton’s Special Guest Neymar Jr. Commits Fatal Error to Force FIA to Investigate Alarming Safety Concern
What do you think? Is Toto Wolff right? We’ve already seen multiple impeding incidents this year in quali. Will the 11th team make it worse?