Lewis Hamilton credited with playing decisive role in the making of F1 movie starring Brad Pitt - as director admits reaching out to Ferrari star for help

Lewis Hamilton has been credited with playing the decisive role behind the Brad Pitt movie that F1 bosses hope will help make giant strides into America.

The seven-time world champion is executive producer of F1, which hits the cinemas on both sides of the Atlantic later this month.

Pitt stars as Sonny Hayes, a returning driver, taking on Damson Idris’s younger Joshua Pearce. It is the chief aim of F1 owners Liberty Media, an American conglomerate, that the movie builds on Drive To Survive among the sport’s traditionally reluctant marketplace.

Joseph Kosinski, who was behind Top Gun: Maverick, and directed the latest potential blockbuster, revealed ahead of Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix: ‘Lewis was the first person I reached out to.

‘I sent him an email and said, “I want to make it as authentic as possible. Will you help me?” And luckily, Lewis said, “Yes”.

‘He was involved in all the technical details with fascinating advice. In Hungary, for instance, he said, “If Brad’s going to let someone pass during a blue flag and he wants it to be as tight as possible, he’s only going to do that at turn six”. That kind of detail, I couldn’t have gotten from anywhere else.’