Max Verstappen said it was “nice to see” clips from the Lewis Hamilton-linked F1 film featuring Brad Pitt, but an “over-dramatised” presentation of his profession is not something he is interested in watching.

Max Verstappen won 19 races out of 22 in 2023.

While the majority of the existing F1 teams appear against accepting in an 11th team as Andretti-Cadillac fight for that honour, the pit lane has in fact housed 11 teams at points in the F1 2023 season, the fictional ‘Apex’ team nestled among the real-life outfits for important filming purposes.

Hamilton, through his Dawn Apollo Films company, is playing a behind-the-scenes role in a Formula 1 movie currently in production, for which Pitt is playing the role of a retired racer, called Sonny Hayes, who comes out of retirement to mentor his young team-mate Joshua Pearce, portrayed by Damson Idris.

Lewis Hamilton-Brad Pitt F1 film not appealing to Max Verstappen

The surge in popularity being enjoyed by Formula 1, triggered by the success of Netflix’s hit docuseries Drive to Survive, has made the series a prime topic for media projects, though Verstappen said he will politely pass when it comes to watching this film once it has been released.

Asked by Formule1.nl whether he has seen any Brad Pitt films, Verstappen replied: “Yes, so many. Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s Twelve and so on, those roles stick with me. I like films anyway and Brad Pitt is of course a super actor.

“Before the US Grand Prix in Austin, I saw a few clips from the new film. They were shown during the drivers’ meeting with an explanation of how they had filmed it all.

“Nice to see, but it doesn’t really interest me that much. I don’t need to see a film of my own sport. This film is of course a made-up story and everything is always over-dramatised, you have to love that. I personally don’t have that much with that.”

Lewis Hamilton provides update on F1 film status

Following the conclusion of the recent Hollywood strikes, Hamilton provided an update on the status of the movie, with filming set to get up and running once more.

That has come at a price though, in the sense of a larger budget now anticipated to be needed.

“In December, I’ll probably spend a day or so with Joe [Kosinski, director] and Jerry [Bruckheimer, producer], just going over the script,” said Hamilton.

“And obviously now we can continue on with the writers and now Brad and Damson will be back in training, getting ready to get back in the car.

“We will continue on filming next year, so you’ll see them around more. And we’ve already got great footage with the demo drivers who have done a great job, as I think all the drivers got to see in Austin.

“We’ll keep pushing along, it’s still going to be great. Might cost a little bit more, but I’m really confident in what Jerry is going to produce.”

Verstappen, meanwhile, heads into F1 2024 off the back of a record-breaking season of dominance, winning 19 of the 22 grands prix held in F1 2023 on his way to a third World Championship.