F1
Lewis Hamilton on Winning Again and Making the Formula 1 Movie with Brad Pitt
The seven-time F1 champion talks candidly about battling through his winless streak, calling bullshit on the F1 screenplay, getting out on the track with Brad Pitt, and how he’ll know when to walk away from racing.
When you were prepping for the movie, did you ever get out on the track with Brad Pitt to check out his driving? If so, how’d he do?
Yeah. We went to a track in L.A. I took him out and sat in the passenger seat, and he drove. I used to be a driving coach when I was younger. It was a way of making some money part time whilst I was racing. So I’ve sat with God knows how many non-racing drivers. You can tell immediately the good ones, the bad ones. Straight away he was on it. You could tell he has it. He has it in his DNA. He’s just not been able to hone in on it like we have. But he’s got big potential.
How Brad Pitt’s F1 movie immersed itself in the racing world: ‘People creating magic’
Standing in the media pen with his hands on hips, overalls undone to the waist and sunglasses on, Brad Pitt looked like any other Formula One driver as he paused before stepping up to the microphone after qualifying for the British Grand Prix.
But unlike the rest of the grid, his interview would only start on the call of “action!” and be captured by multiple cameras, getting the latest scene for Pitt’s upcoming movie, “F1,” due for release in June 2025. In the regular post-qualifying media rush, as reporters waited to speak to the drivers after their sessions, F1’s paddock doubled as a movie set.
From the very start of on-site filming at Silverstone last year, the paddock has embraced “F1”. Led by the “Top Gun: Maverick” director/producer duo of Joe Kosinski and Jerry Bruckheimer, and with Lewis Hamilton serving as a producer, the ability to film on race weekends and truly immerse in the usual operations of the F1 paddock has been critical to its authenticity.
‘Bridgerton’ Star Simone Ashley Joins ‘F1,’ Starring Brad Pitt and Damson Idris
“Bridgerton” star Simone Ashley has joined the cast of “F1,” the Formula 1 racing movie starring Brad Pitt.
The movie follows Pitt as Sonny Hayes, a former Formula 1 driver who returns to the sport and partners with and mentors rookie Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris) on APXGP, a fictional 11th team on the grid.
Eagle-eyed fans spotted Ashley with Idris over the weekend at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit in Northampton, England, where filming continued on the project. Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem, Tobias Menzies, Sarah Niles and Samson Kayo round out the cast for the film, which is being shot during actual Grand Prix weekends as the fictional team competes against the titans of the sport.
BP Gallery Update
• x027 On set: Silverstone Circuit (07/04/24).
• x038 On set: Silverstone Circuit (07/05/24).
• x001 F1: Promo.
• x007 July 03 – London, England.
• x007 July 03 – London, England.
• x010 July 06 – London, England.
• x015 July 07 – London, England.
