"It’s something that we need to control" – Domenicali admits that the Lewis Hamilton and Brad Pitt movie will be 'quite invasive' in production

Stefano Domenicali stated that Lewis Hamilton and Brad Pitt’s F1 movie will be shot during the Silverstone GP this year. The F1 CEO felt that it could be quite intrusive when it comes to its effect on the Grand Prix weekend.

Speaking at an investor meeting as quoted by the Motorsport Network, Domenicali said:

“That's another way to show what we want to do, something different. When we started the collaboration with Netflix, the [F1] community said what's going on? This is not our place to be. And now we understand the power of it. And then we added the very strong presence with social media, making sure that all our drivers and teams are very active in promoting the sport. And that's another tool with the movie."

With regards to the production of the movie, Domenicali added:

"Actually, we're going to start the shooting in Silverstone very soon, and you will see it will be the first movie when basically, they will be within the racing event. It will be quite invasive in terms of production, it's something that we need to control in a way, but it will be another way of showing that F1 never stops.”

The Italian feels they will need to control the invasiveness and manage the live GP weekend in a way that production does not disturb the paddock or the racing environment. Domenicali believes the movie is another way of promoting the sport apart from Drive to Survive on Netflix, which has already been extremely successful. Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei welcomed the new movie as a way to promote the sport. The movie production will also involve a new production house launched by Lewis Hamilton.

Speaking at the investor's meeting, Maffei said:

“Drive to Survive is wonderful. But we cannot rely on Drive to Survive to be our only promotion vehicle forever. This movie, kind of like Vegas, is going to be a whole other level. As much as Drive to Survive is enormous to a lot of people around the world, I still go places and people say, ‘Huh?’ Its audience is not that big. It may be big among this group, but it’s not that big.”

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What is the new Brad Pitt and Lewis Hamilton F1 movie about?

According to IMDB, the movie is about a retired Formula 1 driver who comes out of retirement to mentor a young driver. The movie is being produced by Brad Pitt and Lewis Hamilton and will be directed by Joseph Kosinski, who directed the Top Gun movie Maverick. The movie will star Pitt, the seven-time world champion, and British actor Damson Idris.

Overwhelmed by the movie and its cast, Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei said:

“A Brad Pitt movie with Lewis Hamilton consulting, and with [Jerry] Bruckheimer and with the director from Top Gun: Maverick – we’ve already seen some of what they’re going to do, and how they’re going to skin these cars. They took the technology from Top Gun, and it’s going to be amazing.”

Commenting on the new movie, Lewis Hamilton said:

“I have such high hopes for it. I know we’re going to make the best racing movie that’s ever existed, both visually, and we’re going to work on making sure we pull on the heartstrings of all those fans.”

While Drive to Survive did popularize the sport, F1 has rarely been covered on the big screen by a popular cast. The popular movies on Formula 1 have been Senna (the documentary), Rush, which featured Niki Lauda and James Hunt and the Senna movie. Lewis Hamilton will star in the movie, along with being the consultant producer of the film. Apple is reported to have purchased the rights to the film.