Hamilton helping select Brad Pitt co-star for F1 movie

Lewis Hamilton says he is helping with the process of selecting the actor that will be cast alongside Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt in the Formula 1 movie co-produced by the Mercedes driver that is set to enter production this year.

The talent behind the film, which was picked up by Apple Original Films, reads like a who's who of Hollywood, with Pitt, director Joseph Kosinski of 'Top Gun: Maverick' fame, screenwriter Ethan Kruger and legendary blockbuster producer Jerry Bruckheimer all headlining the project.

Hamilton is serving as a producer and advisor on the movie through his production company, Dawn Apollo Films.

At the launch of Mercedes W14 earlier this week, the seven-time world champion gave an update on the film in which Pitt plays a former racer who comes out of retirement to mentor a younger driver and take his final stab at glory on the track as the young gun's teammate.

"We're going through a process right now of selecting the character that will be alongside Brad, which is exciting," Hamilton explained. "Basically that's the process of watching [the auditions].

"We have recordings of them doing certain scenes and we got through it. I've have sat in the office with Jerry and Joe and Brad, and we've been watching them and kind of given our inputs and what we think."

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The film's production teams will be shooting on location on F1 weekend's this year. Hamilton will advise the production's crews to ensure a high level of realism, but the Briton is also making sure that the cast itself reflects diversity and inclusion.

"I want to make the movie, in terms of like having diversity and representation, I want it to be as Formula 1 should be in the future - or should be now, but will be in the future," he said.

"I want to see female mechanics. We would love to see a female driver. We haven't gotten to that point just yet. But why not?

"Right now, we’ve still got the script. We’ve gone through quite a few different iterations of it. We're still waiting for a new rewrite, and that's the whole process. But I was doing that throughout Christmas.

"It's exciting. I'm excited to get the next end of the script. I was talking to Brad last night about the characters that we have coming."

At last October's US Grand Prix, Pitt, Kosinki and Bruckheimer were all present during the entire weekend at COTA, taking in the sights and sounds of Formula 1 while meeting with team bosses and drivers as they conducted the groundwork to the film.

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