Hamilton reveals more films in pipeline after 'incredible' F1 movie screening

Lewis Hamilton has revealed he is producing more films after the new F1 movie was shown to the Formula 1 grid on Wednesday ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix.

Hamilton co-produced the film titled F1: The Movie, which will be released internationally on June 25, with a release date of June 27 for the United States and Canada. The film, made by Apple Original Films in collaboration with Formula 1, features Brad Pitt as fictional racer Sonny Hayes making a comeback with the team APXGP, alongside every F1 driver from the 2023 season.

Hamilton says he has "gone in very high" with his first film production but plans to make more through his own company, Dawn Apollo Films.

"We will be producing more movies over the coming years," the Ferrari driver said. "I've got three concepts that I'm writing, or I'm going to write with a writer, because I've never written a movie before, but I've got these concepts, these ideas that I've come up with for movies. "So at least two of them will be animations, and one of them is already, in the phase of the first part of the script already, so it's exciting."

The F1 Movie was boasted by the Top Gun: Maverick director-producer combination of Joseph Kosinski and Jerry Bruckheimer. Seven-time world champion Hamilton has been on board with the project since the first announcements at the end of 2021.

"For me it was a really interesting and incredible experience to, firstly have the opportunity to work with Joe [Kosinski] and Jerry [Bruckheimer] and to learn from them, to see what goes on into making a movie," he explained. "Right from the treatment of the first script, which was like the first 30 pages, to then see it build into a story and then get to work with the writers, Ehren and Joe, on trying to make sure it could be as authentic as it was. "As Jerry said, when he spoke to all the drivers and all the team members, it's still a Hollywood movie, right?"

Hamilton said he was "sat in the middle" of the drivers during the screening in Monaco and was "nervous" about their response.

"It was great to look around and see some of the reactions from, particularly the drivers, I really care what the drivers think," he said. "I wanted them to think highly of it and I messaged them afterwards, 'I welcome your honest opinions about it', because for sure there's parts where they may say, 'hey, the timing may be off on the strategy or pit stop' or whatever it might be. "The sound is great, the image is incredible, it's something that's never been done before, so it's something I'm really proud of."

What did the other drivers make of the F1 Movie?

• Ferrari's Charles Leclerc: Found it "really cool" and "absolutely great for the sport" despite minor inaccuracies, praising the camera work and Brad Pitt's driving.
• Alpine's Pierre Gasly: Called it an "amazing opportunity to dive into our world" and praised the production for making the drivers "look very good."
• Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar: Described it as "weird" but believes it will send the sport into "another dimension again" and is the best way for newcomers to get started.
• Williams' Alex Albon: Felt they struck a "good balance" between authenticity and a Hollywood movie, praising the overall job.
• Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto: Called it "very Hollywood" but "nice," highlighting its potential to introduce new people to the sport.

Why did Verstappen not attend F1 movie screening?

Only Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Aston Martin's Lance Stroll did not attend the premiere. Stroll was doing "other stuff", while Verstappen wanted more "private time" and will watch it when released publicly.