Lewis Hamilton believes upcoming Formula 1 feature film he is co-producing will build on Netflix’s success Drive to survive series.
The original Apple film will star Brad Pitt coming out of retirement to compete against a rookie driver in a fictional 11th team on the F1 grid called APXGP.
Earlier today, images were revealed of the black and gold car, which is a Formula 2 car that has been modified to reflect F1 machinery, along with a Silverstone pit lane garage.
The car will appear on the track at various points during the British Grand Prix weekend as filmmakers begin shooting footage for the film.
“I can’t say much more than what I’ve already told you,” Hamilton said.
“I just saw Jerry [Bruckheimer] Coming in and I haven’t been to see the garage yet but on the other hand I was here a week or two before Austria watching Brad practice and it’s very exciting to see it all come together.
“To know that we’re finally starting to shoot this weekend, of course there’s nerves because it’s something we’ve been working on for so long and we want everyone to love it and really feel like we encapsulate what this sport is all about.
“So that’s our goal and hopefully we can make you guys proud.”
The fantastic APXGP pit garages in place for the upcoming Apple movie 07/06/2023. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 11, British Grand Prix, Silverstone, England, Preparation Day.
Hamilton claims he does not believe an ambitious project like this would have been possible under the ownership that existed when he entered F1 in 2007.
However, the acquisition of Liberty Sport in late 2016 saw the sport immediately become more digitally accessible to fans and led to the launch of a behind-the-scenes documentary on Netflix in early 2019.
Drive to survivenow filming its sixth series, it has been widely recognized as a key factor behind F1’s huge rise in popularity in recent years and Hamilton is confident Apple’s film will take the sport’s growth to “new heights”.
“I was incredibly grateful to them [the owners] so I don’t know if that would have been possible 10-plus years ago when the old administration was there,” the Briton explained.
“Maybe they wouldn’t see this as a major step in terms of growing the sport, but we’ve already seen the great work and the impact of the Netflix show and I think this will take it to new heights beyond that.
“There are so many people around the world who are so excited about this sport and want to learn more, and the fact that we will have all the original characters who are already on the grid, and Brad, is really cool.”
The seven-time World Champion also dismissed concerns about the film’s possible lack of authenticity, stating that he has already worked with director Joe Kosinski on camera angles.
“I’m sure… Our cameras are much better than what you see when you watch TV,” he revealed.
“So I’ve seen all the footage from the camera positions, I’ve spent time with Joe trying to make sure we have the best camera positions and the frame rate is different – it’s going to look fast.
“I think it will look faster than it does on TV because I think it has to do with the frame rate that we have to have.
“But Joe is an incredible director. You’ve already seen what he’s done with fighter jets, what he’s done with Maverick.
“So if you think about what he’s done with it in terms of the dogfights you saw with those jets — which was pretty epic — and bringing that technology and that view into our world, I think it’s going to be amazing.”
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