Lewis Hamilton F1 movie budget SOARS past incredible $300 million mark

Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton F1 movie budget SOARS past incredible $300 million mark

Hamilton's Hollywood feature increased its budget after strikes impacted filming

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Saturday 11 May 2024 22:27

Lewis Hamilton’s F1 movie budget has now surpassed $300 million to become one of the most expensive films ever made.

The movie is rumoured to be called ‘Apex’, with Brad Pitt starring a retired F1 driver who returns to the sport to mentor a promising young talent (Damson Idris).

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Pitt’s film also stars Javier Bardem and Kerry Condon, with Hamilton himself reportedly making a cameo appearance.

As co-producer of the film, Hamilton’s role has been to ensure it accurately depicts the world of Formula 1.

Brad Pitt will star in the upcoming F1 film

Are there new challenges for Brad Pitt’s F1 film?

The movie will be directed by Joseph Kosinski, of Top Gun Maverick fame, with filming taking place at the British Grand Prix last year.

However the film has not been without its challenges, the 118-day SAG-AFTRA strike delaying filming.

In addition, the F1 movie has surpassed a $300 million budget, which puts a lot of pressure on the film to be a hit on its release.

‘Apex’ will have to pull in $750 million at the box office to break even (given marketing and distribution costs), another challenge for the project to overcome after struggling to find a distributor and release date.

The actors will also drive genuine race cars in the film, an expensive commodity in itself, let alone the training and safety measures that will increase costs.

Despite these issues Lewis Hamilton remains enamoured with the movie making process, pursuits outside of F1 crucial to the champions’ positive mentality.

Lewis Hamilton has plenty of other ventures outside of Formula 1

“What I realised is that just working all the time doesn’t bring you happiness, and you need to find a balance in life, and I found out that I was actually quite unhappy,” he said in an interview with GQ Magazine.

"You have to find something else that can soothe you, can keep your mind going.”

Hamilton is not the only driver to be tempted by Hollywood, with Daniel Ricciardo co-producing a new F1 comedy titled ‘Downforce’.

Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Brad Pitt