Lewis Hamilton’s Hollywood career is F1’s ultimate cash cow

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton’s Hollywood career is F1’s ultimate cash cow

Lewis Hamilton's career is shaping up for a fairytale ending

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Sunday 21 June 2026 12:57

Lewis Hamilton's F1 career has been nothing short of blockbuster, but his debut campaign with Ferrari turned out to be more like that one season of your favourite TV show that really isn't worth watching.

Let's take award-winning ABC show Lost for example. Far too many seasons and one of the most widely slammed finales in television history. Yeah, Hamilton's 2025 form had fans worried his move to Ferrari was going to result in a stellar career ending in a similar fashion.

But let's get out of the mid-2000s and transport ourselves firmly back to 2026, where Hamilton has finally found himself at Ferrari and regained the confidence he evidently lost last season.

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In 2025, the seven-time champion made it clear he not only doubted his move to Maranello but had also lost faith in his own capabilities.

2026 however is a different story. Hamilton has bounced back in his sophomore year in red with a car he actually had a say in shaping, which is finally translating to on-track success.

The 41-year-old made the long awaited return to the top step of the podium at the Barcelona Grand Prix last time out when, after 686 days, he finally secured his 106th grand prix win and his first for Ferrari.

The F1 superstar is back to his best and with his victory in Spain cementing him as a championship contender, Liberty Media have the British legend to thank for reviving the sport.

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Hamilton conjures up Hollywood career move and F1 should be thanking him

Following Hamilton's glorious return to winning ways in Barcelona, 13-time grand prix winner David Coulthard weighed in on the Brit's success and what it means for the sport as a whole.

Speaking to F1.com, Coulthard said: "He’s second in the World Championship, Mercedes have got reliability concerns, and that’s only going to get worse as the year goes on, so could we be talking about someone who’s in the hunt for the World Championship? Max came back from 100 points at this race and almost won it in Abu Dhabi.

Coulthard then likened Hamilton's career to something the film industry could only dream of concocting, saying: "His whole career feels a bit Hollywood. I know we’ve been introduced to Hollywood with F1 The Movie, and all the success that’s there. If you’re Liberty [Media, F1’s commercial rights holders], it just doesn’t get better."

The McLaren legend then added: "Lewis has had his mojo since the beginning of the year, which is great to see. It may feel like we’re all jumping on a bandwagon, but the sport tells us the performances, and that was world-class."

F1 pundit relieved to move on from Hamilton slump

Like many presenters and pundits working at last weekend's Barcelona GP, Coulthard admitted it was a 'relief' to finally be able to report on positive stories regarding the most statistically successful driver the sport has ever seen.

"I feel a mixture of absolute admiration and relief," said Coulthard, who since retiring from the sport in 2008, has taken up the role of F1 ambassador and commentator for multiple broadcasters.

"The relief is because it’s not comfortable to question the quality of a driver like Lewis," the Scotsman continued.

"Over the last couple of years, especially in our roles, where you have to look at the data, and ask the questions based on that… Lewis’ whole career has been such a high bar, that having him the middle of last year going, ‘Change the driver’, at his lowest, doubting himself…

"It really felt that we’d seen the best of Lewis, but what we’ve just seen is the best of Lewis, on the back of his strong start to the season."

Take notes F2 The Movie (yes, there is going to be a sequel, no, they aren't going to actually call it F2) Hamilton's career resurgence could be unmatched inspiration for the next F1 blockbuster.

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya Barcelona-Catalunya Grand prix David Coulthard