New book about Mercedes F1 promises to be a bestseller

A new book about Formula 1 will appear on British store shelves on November 12, and it promises to be a bestseller. It’s called “Inside Mercedes F1”, and judging by the announcements and the first reviews, all 352 pages of the book are very interesting to read.

However, this should hardly come as a surprise as the author, renowned British writer and youth magazine columnist Matt Wyman, winner of several book awards, was given “unprecedented access” to the behind-the-scenes of the Formula 1 team.

“This book lifts the veil that usually hides the life that goes on within the team, and is based on material collected by the author, who was given unprecedented access. “No one has ever had the opportunity to see everything that happens behind the scenes up close,” says team leader Toto Wolff himself in the foreword to Wyman’s work. And you can trust him.

Matt Wyman has observed the daily life and work of Mercedes F1 throughout the 2023 and part of 2024 seasons, both on track and at the base in Brackley, but that may not be the most important thing. Toto Wolff and other Mercedes employees were as open as possible with him.

For example, those who already had the book in their hands drew attention to the following words of Toto Wolff, who said about Lewis Hamilton:

“Of course I assumed Lewis would leave, and I just couldn’t understand why he decided to change the team before it became clear whether we would be competitive. Besides, I didn’t have time to respond at all.

I had to urgently call our partners and perhaps I also missed the opportunity to negotiate with other drivers who had signed contracts a few weeks earlier, such as Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris.

However, I actually liked this situation because it allowed us to avoid the moment when we would have had to tell the most successful driver of the championship that we want to end our partnership…

We play a sport where sharpness is extremely important, and I believe everyone has their own ‘expiration date’. That’s why I have to look at the next generation of riders.”

Wolff did just that, so in 2025 George Russell’s new partner will be 18-year-old Italian Andrea Kimi Antonelli. But the head of Mercedes F1 and the seven-time world champion had not only professional, but also long-term friendships – wouldn’t it be painful for him to say goodbye to Lewis after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the season finale, which will take place Hamilton’s 246th race be with this team?

“It was a business decision,” Wolff responded. “We walked this path together, it was successful and brought us a lot of joy, but now we focus on our own interests. I have thick skin, so I didn’t even notice anything had changed for me. There have been some pretty tough moments in my life that this one can’t even compare to.”

The book ‘Inside the Mercedes F1’ was published by Crown, which is part of the American-British conglomerate Penguin Random House, and there is no doubt that it will soon be translated into many languages ​​of the world.

In conclusion, we can quote Damon Hill, 1996 World Champion and Sky Sports pundit, who has already read Matt Wyman’s new work: “I’m very jealous of Matt! Get the chance to live in a Formula 1 team for a whole year – and not just any team, but the Mercedes F1 team! – every fan or journalist can only dream of this.

Formula 1 has a controversial culture. On the one hand this is an extremely closed sphere, on the other hand it is driven and brought to life by the desire for universal attention.

And if you invite a journalist behind the scenes to record everything and then write about it, that speaks of total recklessness or exceptional self-confidence. I think in this case we are dealing with the latter.”