Sir Lewis Hamilton helped to steer the Brad Pitt-starring 'F1' movie - and wasn't afraid to tell the cast if something they did "wouldn't happen" in the real racing world.
Sir Lewis Hamilton was a huge help to the stars of 'F1', says Damson Idris
Actor Damson Idris had to step behind the wheel of a real-life F1 car for the upcoming movie, in which he plays Sonny Hayes' (Brad Pitt) rookie teammate Joshua Pearce, and he was thankful to have the champion racing driver on board.
Speaking at the IWC Schaffhausen Pre Silverstone British Grand Prix Event ahead of Hamilton winning his first British Grand Prix in two years on Sunday (07.07.24), he said of the flick: "It's unlike anyone has ever seen before, we are driving the cars for real."
Damson said of Mercedes star Lewis' role as producer: "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."
He continued: “There's no better person to teach you about Formula 1 than Lewis Hamilton. To have someone who lives breathes and sleeps Formula 1, we're in no better hands.
“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."
The Apple Original flick is being directed by ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ filmmaker Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckeheimer.
Damson teased: "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 unlike anything what we are doing right now."
Kosinski has said the innovation is beyond what they did for 'Top Gun: Maverick' and the epic flying scenes with Tom Cruise.
He told Deadline: "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."
The film is set to undergo further shooting later this year and will continue filming until the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December.
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