MB Commercial Break: Racing is a State of Mind

Lewis Hamilton was a rookie. Originally signed by the McLaren team when he was just 13 years old, Hamilton had just had one of the most impressive GP2 campaigns in series history.

So in 2007 when team principal Ron Dennis had signed both men to drive his Mercedes Benz powered car, he thought only the best things would come his way. Engine manufacturer Mercedes-Benz thought so as well, and commissioned the two drivers to star in a commercial about the competitive nature between the two men. The Ad is great for several reasons. A fantastic duet between children of “Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better,” plays in the background, they fight over a babe crossing the street, and they trip one another in the hallways of a Hilton Hotel.

Though underneath that playfulness, the two drivers had a rivalry that hadn’t been seen since the greats Alain Prost and Aryton Senna. Bitter fighting between the two happened at nearly every round and came to a head in Budapest, Hungary. At season’s end, McLaren decided that the men were too competitive to be teammates and Alonso left, and headed back to Renault. This commercial predicted it all. Only when it was all said and done, Mika Hakkinen wasn’t around to tell them to have a shvitz.