Mercedes turned heads by being in the mix for the race win at the British GP. On the track, the problems of the W13 looked to be resolved, and the team has found its voice back in the championship. Off the track, the team boss, Toto Wolff, is making a splash with a limited edition wristwatch.
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A leading watch manufacturer, IWC sponsors the 8-time constructor winner. To celebrate the team’s success, IWC launched a limited edition watch called the ‘Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Edition Toto Wolff x Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team.’
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The Swiss watch manufacturer only produced 100 units and auctioned the last watch for charity. The proceeds of the 100th unit go to Lewis Hamilton’s charity, Ignite. The charity aims to promote diversity in the world of motorsport.
Mercedes boss, Toto Wolff, recently appeared in a podcast sponsored by the IWC brand. It was hosted by the German photographer, Paul Ripke. The duo talked about the last unit of the watch which sold for $192,471.
In the podcast named Partners in time, Paul Ripke asked, “There is a little bit of red stuff on the watch as well, the crown is red or the lower part of the crown is red? Do I see it right, can you explain that to me? But why? I thought you changed teams, what happened there?”
In reply, Wolff said, “No I think this is one part of the design feature we discussed with Chris. My best friend, closest ally, brother in crime was Niki Lauda, and Niki Lauda passed away in 2019, and I miss him dearly. Team misses him and I wanted to have an homage to Niki, who was known because of his red cap.
By having a red circle around the crown, and its a feature that you don’t see it first time. But when you’re wearing the watch, then you have a little bit of Niki Lauda on the watch too.”
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Ripke further commented, “So you kind of like, if you’re changing the time in different time zones. Which you probably do a lot, then you get a little hint of Niki says in it, which is kind of nice, I really like it because you see only it few crowns out to set the time and set the date”
Wolff concluded by saying “Exactly, and this is what I would wish for the lucky 100 people who bought the watch that when they adjust the time, they think about Niki Lauda.”
How is Niki Lauda responsible for Mercedes’ current success?
One legend of Formula 1 is the former three-time world champion, Niki Lauda. The Austrian racing driver started 171 races in his career and is arguably one of the best to have raced in the sport. Notably, he is the only driver to have won a championship with the sport’s most successful teams, Ferrari and Mclaren.
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Lauda joined Mercedes in 2012 to serve as a role of Chairman. His most noteworthy contribution was to convince Lewis Hamilton to join Mercedes in 2013. The former world champion persuaded the Brit to jump ship and get on board with the German constructor.
Sadly, the Formula 1 paddock lost Lauda in 2019. The Austrian passed away and left a void in the Mercedes garage. At every race weekend, fans would see him in his iconic red cap and always in tune with the racing action. He laid the foundation at Mercedes, which is as big today because of his hard work in the early days of incorporation of the team.
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Lewis Hamilton, Toto Wolff, and the whole Mercedes remember him dearly. The Austrian lives in the heart of the German racing stable, which has always ensured to feature a red star on its car for its superhero, Niki Lauda.
