Today, it’s about lights, camera, and vroom—because we’re set to talk about the seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton’s Hollywood ambition—his film and TV production company Dawn Apollo Films. It all began in late 2022 when Hamilton set his sights on Hollywood as his future plan after retiring from his racing career.
Proving to be a maestro (not just behind the wheel), Lewis Hamilton began steering his own production company straight into the glitzy world of movies.
And now, after 3 years into the business, the F1 champ has already scored two high-profile projects—one with Brad Pitt and the other is a feature documentary on Hamilton’s own journey. So, let’s check out more about Hamilton’s silver screen ambitions.
Lewis Hamilton’s comments about his production company
All this while the world knew Lewis Hamilton for being the speed demon on the track—not to mention how his good looks benefited him. But since 2022, Hamilton shifted his popularity from being just the racing track maestro to a passionate storyteller. It’s his penchant for films and shows that led the F1 racer to establish his own production company, Dawn Apollo Films, three years back.
That’s when in an exclusive interview with Deadline, Hamilton shared his motivation behind his decision to come up with the production company. Sharing his ambitions beyond the racing track, as well as the movies he landed, right after launching his company, the seven-time F1 champion reflected on his journey from behind the wheel to creating impactful stories that inspire and resonate with audiences.
I’ve always been into movies. I watch a lot. I find it a real escape. There are a lot of movies I find inspiring and I’ve always dreamed of one day doing something in this space. The question was often asked whether I would act.
I’ve been very fortunate to be an F1 driver so I never really had time to dedicate to the craft of acting but a dream of mine has been to story-tell. I sat down with my team, and I asked “What would it take for us to start a production company?”, and I went around and I met a range of producers and filmmakers in LA just to gain knowledge.
One of them was Jeffrey Katzenberg. The goal is to make impactful stories and ultimately to inspire people through movies and storytelling. A big part of the new company will be about social impact, community, and causes. That’s very important to me.
With a vision to create films and shows that would be appealing to fans, Lewis Hamilton emphasized the importance that community and social causes are set to have on his production company. Stating these elements to be crucial to his company’s mission, Hamilton told the outlet back in 2022, how he was intrigued by acting, but then focused himself on storytelling from behind the scenes.
Lewis Hamilton scored a high-profile project with Brad Pitt
Delving deeper into the interview about how he chose the name of his production company from Greek mythology, Lewis Hamilton mentioned that all together, his company symbolized new beginnings. Claiming to have deeper connections with the name of his brand, the F1 racer went on to discuss the anticipated projects under Dawn Apollo Films.
Right after establishing his company in 2022, Hamilton told the outlet how he landed a project in collaboration with the Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski, featuring Brad Pitt. Although now we know that Hamilton was talking about the iconic F1 movie starring Pitt as Sonny Hayes, a retired F1 driver making a comeback to mentor Damson Idris—back then it was tantalizing news.
We have a couple of great projects in the works with Apple TV+. One is the documentary and the other is the F1 movie we’re making with Brad Pitt and Joe Kosinski. I actually had an opportunity to work with Joe on Top Gun: Maverick.
Tom [Cruise] put me on the phone with him and Joe moved heaven and earth to create space for me to be one of the pilots in the film, but I wasn’t able to make it work, which I regret every day. I try to grasp these opportunities when they come up now, but the racing season is still paramount.
Upon being asked if he would act in the movie, while Lewis Hamilton teased that it’s not “impossible”, the racing legend mentioned that his main focus is to serve as a producer, ensuring the film’s authenticity by providing insights into the world of Formula 1 racing. Further admitting that he didn’t have any exclusive deal with Apple TV, Hamilton mentioned that he “would love to do more work with Apple”.
Meanwhile, the production team went to great lengths to capture the essence of F1 racing in Brad Pitt‘s upcoming movie. The filming took place during real Grand Prix events with real shots acquired from the racing event. And as for Hamilton’s involvement, the racer offered the film with the utmost authentic touch, with hopes of his debut release transforming into a major success.
The film is set to release on June 27, 2025.
The F1 champ recently teased a collaboration with Charles Leclerc
Now, coming to the documentary movie that he promised during the interview back in 2022, is currently under development. As per The Wrap, Apple TV has acquired the rights to develop the documentary about the groundbreaking life and career of the seven-time Formula 1 World Champion. Although the project remains untitled, it is revealed that Matt Kay will direct it.
Meanwhile, adding fuel to the fire, Hamilton recently teased a potential onscreen performance involving fellow F1 driver Charles Leclerc. Although there has been no official confirmation or details mentioned about the potential project, fans are already buzzing with excitement at the prospect of two racing titans collaborating on the screen, apart from Formula 1.
It all began after he recreated an iconic scene from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and shared it via TikTok. As his performance gained traction, amassing an impressive 10M+ views, Hamilton addressed that video in an interview for Ferrari’s Formula 1 team. Therein stating how “Ferris Bueller was actually the first time I saw a Ferrari”, Hamilton drew connections between his racing profession and his passion for film production.
Soon, he disclosed that he was looking to do “something from an Eddie Murphy movie” for his TikTok account, and turned towards his fellow F1 driver Charles Leclerc seated beside him. That’s when Leclerc was asked about a movie that he’d love to recreate or be a part of—and being a massive Potterhead, the eight-times F1 champion noted: “probably Harry Potter, the flying car scene”.
And just like that as Charles Leclerc mentioned Harry Potter, Lewis Hamilton noted that he’d probably do the Harry Potter scene with his colleague first and then move on to recreate a scene from a Eddie Murphy movie. Well, this was enough to get fans hyped and spark rumors of a potential film starring Leclerc and Hamilton. But sadly the duo were just discussing recreating scenes from iconic movies in their TikTok videos.
As already stated, Lewis Hamilton’s Dawn Apollo Films is busy with the production of the F1 movie and his potential documentary.
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