Lewis Hamilton has taken on a new role, helping to steer the Brad Pitt-starring F1 movie — and he’s not shy about calling out anything that “wouldn’t happen” in the real racing world.
Actor Damson Idris, who had the nerve-wracking task of getting behind the wheel of a real-life F1 car for the upcoming film, plays Sonny Hayes’ (Brad Pitt) rookie teammate, Joshua Pearce. Idris expressed immense gratitude for having the champion driver on board.
“It’s unlike anything anyone has ever seen before; we are driving the cars for real,” speaking at the IWC Schaffhausen Pre Silverstone British Grand Prix Event, right before Hamilton won his first British Grand Prix in two years.
“He lets us know that wouldn’t happen, which is a rarity in this art form. Like I said, it’s a fictional story, so to have someone who lives, breathes, and sleeps F1, we are in no better hands,” Idris elaborated on Mercedes star Lewis’ crucial role as producer.
“There’s no better person to teach you about Formula 1 than Lewis Hamilton. When I think of Lewis, I think of inspiring. It doesn’t matter what art form you’re involved in; you’ll always take a bit of Lewis and apply it to your life,” Idris continued.
The Apple Original flick is being helmed by Top Gun: Maverick filmmaker Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, which means we’re in for some high-octane thrills — minus the dogfights.
“This movie is unlike anything I’ve ever done before; they put me behind the wheel. I had some driving experience, I’ve driven fast cars before, but it’s nothing like what we are doing right now,” Idris teased.
Kosinski, never one to shy away from pushing the envelope, mentioned that the innovation on this film goes beyond what they achieved with Top Gun: Maverick and its epic human flight scenes.
“It’s the next generation from what we did on Top Gun. Everything is much smaller and the big innovation that we’re now able to control the movement of the cameras on the cars. We’re not locked into these kinds of fixed positions we had on Top Gun. Now we have real-time control of panning and focusing them while shooting through a very extensive RF network that we’ve built around the tracks,” he told “Deadline.”
The film, which promises to be as thrilling as a last-lap showdown, is set to undergo further shooting later this year and will continue filming until the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December.
