Lewis Hamilton dines with star Brad Pitt in Austin as they plan a new Formula 1 blockbuster
It’s about 4,947 miles from Stevenage to Eddie V’s Prime Seafood Restaurant in downtown Austin, Texas and a seat next to Brad Pitt.
That’s where Hertfordshire-born Lewis Hamilton, a Hollywood superstar, found himself for company at the state capital’s swankiest steakhouse on Thursday night as F1’s elite hatched their next big screen blockbuster: a film starring Pitt, 58, as a washed-up -Driver becomes team owner returning to the cockpit; Hamilton, 37, will serve as co-producer and consultant.
It’s hoped it builds on Netflix’s Drive to Survive series, which has attracted a new audience who now understand that what happens on the track is only a fraction of what the sport is about .
Lewis Hamilton will co-produce a film about F1 with legendary actor Brad Pitt, 58
The film stars Pitt as a former racer turned team owner returning to the cockpit
Which brings us back to Eddie V’s on 5th Street, where a 32-ounce Tomahawk Prime Long Bone Ribeye costs $160. Vegan Lewis was forced off the menu for his dinner.
Well, what a parade to the busy restaurant’s private dining room, a favorite haunt of the main characters on their annual trip here.
The invitation list showed how important this supposed film is for everyone involved: On the other side of Hamilton sat Greg Maffei, America boss of Formula 1 owners Liberty Media.
Greg Maffei (left), Americas boss of Liberty Media, owner of Formula 1, and F1 boss Stefano Domenicali (right) were present
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff (above), Hamilton’s father Anthony and stepmother Linda were also involved
Also present were F1 boss Stefano Domenicali, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, Hamilton’s father Anthony and stepmother Linda.
Hamilton gave a speech that was greeted with warm applause, and then they picked it up.
The film, which has the working title Formula 1, will, it can be revealed, involve all the teams in real action at the Grands Prix – an idea that was discussed when Domenicali and Pitt collaborated on Top Gun: Maverick in London earlier this year look at
Pitt was present in Texas prior to the US Grand Prix
It will air on Apple TV, which announced in June they had acquired the rights for $140million (£125million), and will be directed by Joseph Kosinski, who was responsible for the latest Top Gun film.
He was also present at dinner. Hamilton has already revealed he won’t have a role on screen.
Over the weekend, 440,000 spectators are expected here at the Circuit of the Americas, 24 km southeast of downtown.
Those numbers show the increasing influence Formula 1 is having in states where so far they’ve proven slow to warm to what they saw as a largely European distraction.
Miami made the roster this year, an extravagance that Domenicali and company hope to eclipse when the cars roar down the Las Vegas Strip on November 18 next year.
No driver has won the American Grand Prix more times than Hamilton’s record six wins
Hamilton has won the American Grand Prix six times, once in Indianapolis and five times in Austin, but this time he’s struggling against his machinery. Still, he was cheerful speaking a few hours before his dinner date.
“I’m very happy just being in the States,” said the Mercedes man and new co-owner of the Denver Broncos. “This track is something special. Considering it’s a newer circuit, it’s one of the best.
“And they just do it differently here, right? We Europeans are good at sport, but there are things we have learned from partnering with Liberty. The sport is growing in terms of how we present the show.
Hamilton hasn’t won this season, having uniquely done so in every year of his career, but a glimmer of hope may lie in extensive upgrades from Mercedes.
Hamilton is in danger of losing his amazing record of winning a race every season
“We’ve had expectations in the past – ‘Oh, that’s going to do a tenth,’ and then we struggle to pull that out,” he said. “So I’m open minded.”
The FIA, meanwhile, has ditched race director Eduardo Freitas for the remainder of the season and changed its rules after sending in a crane during the rain-soaked Japanese Grand Prix.
In a tacit admission of failure, a report on the Oct. 9 race concluded that a recovery vehicle that narrowly missed France’s Pierre Gasly will not be allowed back onto the track until all cars are grouped behind the safety car.
And instead of alternating race direction with Freitas, German Niels Wittich will referee the four remaining races.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/formulaone/article-11342023/Lewis-Hamilton-dines-star-Brad-Pitt-Austin-plot-new-Formula-One-blockbuster-film.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490 Lewis Hamilton dines with star Brad Pitt in Austin as they plan a new Formula 1 blockbuster
