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Lewis Hamilton isn’t easing off the gas anytime soon, but this time, the track leads straight to Hollywood.
The seven-time Formula One world champion has revealed he’s already deep into his next film project, hot on the heels of consulting on Apex, the big-budget F1 movie starring Brad Pitt and Damson Idris, due to hit cinemas on June 26.
It’s said that the encouragement from Pitt and the pair’s association in the new film has encouraged Hamilton to sink his teeth in the movie business as he studied everything and everyone on set.
Far from a one-off, Hamilton says the film was just his opening lap. Through his production company, Dawn Apollo Films, he’s now developing three new projects - two animated features and a live-action film and says this is only the beginning of his second act.
“I’ve got three concepts I’ve written,” he said at the Monaco Grand Prix. “I’m going to work with a writer, because I’ve never written a movie before, but I’ve got these ideas. We’re already in the first phase of the script on one of them, so it’s exciting.”
The racer might still be chasing podiums on the track, but it’s clear he’s also eyeing prestige in the entertainment world.
Dawn Apollo - a slick, cosmic-themed studio name born from his lifelong fascination with space and mythology - is already being positioned as a heavyweight in the making.
When Apex opens, his logo will flash onscreen alongside Hollywood giants like Jerry Bruckheimer’s, a full-circle moment for Hamilton, who spent years shaping the film behind the scenes.
“I worked on the script. I got to call bulls**t where it didn’t feel authentic,” he said. “And seeing my own logo up there at the start that planetary animation I helped design, it’s mad. Couldn’t have aimed higher for my first movie.”
In Apex, Pitt plays a veteran driver returning to the sport to mentor a rising star, played by Idris. It was filmed at real-life Grand Prix circuits using cars engineered by Mercedes, with Hamilton advising on everything from racing accuracy to cultural detail, which is a personal mission to keep it real and avoid the usual petrolhead clichés.
But it’s not just big-screen blockbusters Hamilton is after. He says documentaries and TV series are also on his radar. “There’ll be docs, there’ll be TV stuff eventually,” he teased. “But right now, it’s mostly movies. I love movies that’s what I love the most.”
This isn’t just a vanity pivot. Hamilton has made clear he wants to tell stories that reflect the world he knows — and shake up the industry while he’s at it. His production company was launched with a focus on inclusivity, authenticity and bringing new voices to the front of the screen.
“I’ve spent years walking into rooms where no one looks like me,” he’s said in the past. “Now I want to help build rooms where that’s no longer the case.”
As for his day job? Hamilton is still in the driving seat at Mercedes but only until the end of the season. Next year, he’ll switch teams and join Ferrari, in what’s already being billed as a historic F1 move. But with his eyes firmly fixed on the film industry too, it’s clear the next chapter for Hamilton isn’t just about racing trophies.
