Will F1's Lewis Hamilton attend OSCARS? Academy Awards shortlist announced

Lewis Hamilton, Met Gala, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

Formula 1

Will Hamilton attend OSCARS? Academy Awards shortlist announced

Could Lewis Hamilton win an Oscar?

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Tuesday 23 December 2025 21:04

F1 champion Lewis Hamilton could have an Oscar-award winning film to his name by 2026, after the F1 Movie was announced on the 98th Academy Awards shortlist in five categories.

The seven-time world champion added a production credit to his name (and production company Dawn Apollo) in 2025, after the release of the F1 Movie which was directed by Joseph Kosinski, while Jerry Bruckheimer was the executive producer of the blockbuster.

Brad Pitt played the lead role of Sonny Hayes in the film, and he and Hamilton struck up quite a friendship, while Javier Bardem, Kerry Condon and Damson Idris also starred in the film.

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The stars of the F1 grid, including Hamilton, also delivered cameos in the film, but it was its impressive camera shots that really wowed audiences.

Using state of the art moveable cameras attached to the cockpit of the car, they managed to really capture the tense racing moments, and Hamilton has actually suggested that F1 should use similar cameras for TV coverage in the future.

However, the shortlist is not the same as a nomination, and the nominations for each category of the 98th Oscars will be announced on January 22.

The awards themselves are then hosted on March 15 at the glamorous event at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

Was the F1 movie a success?

The fact that the film has been shortlisted for five awards and performed so well at the box office suggests that it absolutely was a success.

F1 surpassed $545m (£410m) at the global box office, making it the most successful film of Pitt's career financially speaking. World War Z achieved $540m (£407m), and was previously Pitt's most successful film.

However, the film received mixed reviews from fans, pundits and the F1 drivers who starred in it.

Carlos Sainz wasn't a fan, questioning the authenticity of the storylines, while many fans pointed to the appalling representation of females in the film.

Pitt stars in the lead role of the film as aged racing driver Sonny Hayes, who in his 60s (yes, you heard that correctly) miraculously returns to the sport to race for fictional team APX GP. Considering how much Hamilton is struggling in the sport at age 40, I think it's safe to say a driver in their 60s wouldn't be much good.

There is one female character of any note in the film, played by Condon, who is introduced as F1's first ever female technical director but who then magically falls in love with her driver and becomes Pitt's love interest.

Fans criticised the movie for these reasons, but it did set a record for Apple Studios as their highest-grossing theatrical release of all time.

F1 Lewis Hamilton Brad Pitt F1 movie