In a move that’s set the world of entertainment and sports abuzz, Formula 1 icon is shifting gears from the racetrack to the silver screen, starring alongside heavyweight in the upcoming high-octane racing film, F1. With a staggering budget rumoured to top $300 million (£243 million), this project is shaping up to be one of the grandest cinematic ventures in recent history.
In the highly anticipated film set to premiere in June 2025, the seven-time world champion is not only serving as a producer but also as a consultant, ensuring the authenticity of the portrayal. He has been intricately involved in the production, from participating in the scriptwriting process to providing technical consultancy, all to guarantee that the racing scenes depicted are meticulously accurate.
Revealed during the 2024 race weekend at Silverstone, the film sees notable collaboration between the seven-time Formula 1 world champion and ‘s elite, including actor Brad Pitt and director Joseph Kosinski.
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Lewis Hamilton is serving as a producer and a consultant (Image: Getty)
Pitt, who recently settled his years-long divorce from is the film’s seasoned lead, and plays a retired racer who returns to the tracks to mentor a young prodigy, portrayed by rising star Damson Idris. The narrative, rich with themes of redemption and resilience, promises to deliver both adrenaline-pumping racing sequences and deep personal drama.
The ensemble supporting cast is nothing short of stellar, featuring Oscar-winner Javier Bardem, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, and Sarah Niles, all set to elevate the film to a must-watch status for movie and racing enthusiasts alike.
Despite narrowly missing out on a role in Top Gun: Maverick, Hamilton’s dreams are now full throttle under the direction of Kosinski, known for his work on 2022 sequel to Top Gun. However, it hasn’t been a smooth ride to production. The ambitious project faced its share of speed bumps—from pandemic-related delays to logistical nightmares involving the authentic portrayal of racing scenes—challenges that have only fuelled the project’s anticipation and ballooned its budget.
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The collaboration unites Hamilton with Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment (Image: Getty)
The collaboration unites Hamilton with Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment and esteemed producer Jerry Bruckheimer, forming a dynamic partnership.
The Formula 1 world champion has been crucial in ensuring the film is as realistic as possible, according to producer Bruckheimer.
“Lewis keeps us honest,” said Bruckheimer. “He looks at every race and he’d say, ‘you wouldn’t be in second gear in this moment. You’d be in first’. He comes in and he can hear the engine and the shifting and everything like that. So he looks at every race scene, and he also said, ‘in order to get one of these cars, you really have to be in shape’. So we had Brad training. We do a lot of stuff like that, thanks to his info.”
In the midst of the project’s uncertainties, Pitt expressed his enthusiasm for the film’s progress and its story.
“Everything has been great. The energy is incredible, being able to be part of this and tell our story. The teams have opened their doors to us. A guy who raced in the nineties, who had a horrible accident, fails and disappears, then races in other disciplines. His friend, played by Javier Bardem, owns a team and contacts him,” the actor revealed.
F1 legend Lewis Hamilton gears up for his silver screen debut alongside Hollywood star Brad Pitt (Image: Getty)
In a candid chat with Esquire, the British racing driver, who formerly dated Pussycat Dolls star discussed his hands-on role: “Ehren [Kruger, the screenwriter] basically did a ton of research, watched a lot of races, came to a bunch of races, and then went away and wrote up a script. But we would sit and talk about what racing is about. Then once he wrote the script, I would sit with him and call bulls**t, basically, on the things that don’t seem real and are not what F1 is about and try to make sure that it’s as authentic as possible. Then at the same time, I started a production company, so I’m a producer with these guys.”
Revealing how he got involved with the film in the first place, Hamilton also commented: “We were there from the beginning. There were a couple scripts out there. I had known Joe [Kosinski, the director] from when we talked about doing Top Gun: Maverick through Tom [Cruise]. Tom put me in touch with Joe, and there were discussions of being in the movie. And then we just stayed in touch. Then we all reconnected to talk about potentially doing a Formula 1 movie. And then we went through this whole process of working with a writer.”
The feature film is set to be released in June 2025.