From Ashes of Lewis Hamilton’s Failed Top Gun: Maverick Dream, Tom Cruise Set Up Massive ‘F1’ Project With Brad Pitt

Sometimes, it’s mind-boggling how dreams come true. You get more than you ask for and are left pinching yourself. Something similar happened to our beloved Lewis Hamilton. The 7-time F1 champion, who had always dreamt of owning his own production house, materialized it by rejecting Tom Cruise’s offer for a cameo in Top Gun: Maverick. Confused? Well, here’s the story.
Hamilton was offered the role of a fighter pilot in Top Gun: Maverick. Despite being a die-hard fan of the original 1986 Top Gun, he had to turn it down with a heavy heart. “I’m a perfectionist,” he said, highlighting how his F1 commitments wouldn’t allow him to give dedicated time to the Tom Cruise starrer. However, the American actor introduced the Mercedes driver to director Joseph Kosinski, who, as fate would have it, would take the helm of Hamilton and Brad Pitt’s first F1 movie.
Simply titled ‘F1’, the Brad Pitt starrer has Hamilton as one of its producers. In an interview with Esquire, the Briton spilled the beans on this unbelievable journey. “We were there from the beginning,” he said, referring to his involvement in developing the script. “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.”
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via Getty AUSTIN, TEXAS – OCTOBER 23: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes meets Brad Pitt and Tim Cook in the garage prior to the F1 Grand Prix of USA at Circuit of The Americas on October 23, 2022 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Mario Renzi – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
Polls of the day Poll 1 of 4 Do you think Tom Cruise’s F1 project with Brad Pitt will outshine Lewis Hamilton’s racing legacy? Absolutely No way Maybe Only time will tell Have an interesting take? Join Debate Do you think Charles Leclerc’s $436,000 gift to Ferrari is worth it? Absolutely No way Maybe, if it pays off Only time will tell Have an interesting take? Join Debate Do you think Daniel Ricciardo’s failure is a blessing in disguise for Liam Lawson? Absolutely Not at all Too early to say Ricciardo deserves another chance Have an interesting take? Join Debate Do you think Carlos Sainz should consider a future with Red Bull? Absolutely No way Depends on the circumstances Only if he gets a top car Have an interesting take? Join Debate
Eventually, the pieces of the puzzle fell in place to give you the movie you’ll be watching in June 2025. “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,” Hamilton added.
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The real work began after they hired a screenwriter. Like any other feature film, they went through many drafts of the original script to hone the story. Guess who the professional fact-checker was. If you haven’t thought of Hamilton’s name, we are disappointed in you. But yes, who better than a 7-time F1 champion to correct the faults in Hollywood’s first big-budget collaboration with F1?
Lewis Hamilton ‘called bullsh*t’ on the initial drafts of the ‘F1’ script
The USP of ‘F1’ is realism. The makers have aimed to ground it in reality, with no over-dramatization of simple events. In July, before the movie’s official teaser dropped on YouTube, Joseph Kosinski thanked Lewis Hamilton for his undying commitment. Making time from his busy racing schedule, the Briton used to attend zoom calls to refine the screenplay. Let’s hear the journey of the screenplay from the F1 champion himself.
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“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,” he told Esquire. “Then once he wrote the script, I would sit with him and call bullshit, 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.”
‘F1’ focuses on Brad Pitt’s character Sonny Hayes, a driver who comes out of retirement to help resurrect the struggling APXGP, a fictional F1 team. Damon Idris plays the team’s younger driver, Joshua Pearce. The star-studded cast also boasts names like Javier Bardem, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, and more. The Apple Original Films project, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, is set to hit the big screens on 25th June, 2025. Thanks to F1’s cooperation, the movie has been shot live during race weekends and promises a rollercoaster. Oh man! We are so counting down the days till the release.