Lewis Hamilton brings new definition to the term multihyphenate.
Hamilton’s day job is being a star Formula 1 driver for Ferrari. In his spare time, he steers numerous ventures as an entrepreneur, fashion designer, investor, film and TV producer through his Dawn Apollo Films banner and as an advocate for social issues that are deeply important him.
Even as he’s in the midst of the Formula 1 season and about to open his first film as a producer – Apple Original Films’ “F1 the Movie” — on June 5 Hamilton had a much-publicized meeting with British Prime Minister Kier Starmer, who pledged to back Hamilton’s roadmap for how the government can address issues of racism and bias in how the U.K. handles the expulsion of students from state schools. This was a direct result of research done by Hamilton’s Mission 44 nonprofit, which aims to expand access to STEM education opportunities for students from underrepresented backgrounds. As a teenager, Hamilton himself faced an expulsion that was eventually overturned.
“What really resonates with him on a personal level is how do you make sure that young people feel that sense of belonging and connection and are able to really thrive at school, particularly if they come from a traditionally underserved community, whether that’s because it’s from a low income background, or whether they may experience discrimination or disadvantage of varying forms,” says Jason Arthur, a former teacher who is CEO of London-based Mission 44. “So his own personal journey plays into this.”
Hamilton made his voice heard in a big way in Formula 1 in 2020, when he unveiled the Hamilton Commission research report that he funded to vividly illustrate the shameful lack of Black representation in U.K. motorsports. Mission 44 was born from that experience. Given the COVID moment in which the organization was born, it’s no surprise that addressing systemic problems in education has been a key focus for the organization.
“What we have seen in England is a massive growth since COVID of young people who were then suspended and permanently excluded from school,” Arthur says. “Whether it’s mental health issues or teachers really struggling under the strain of the support needs that young people have. And then there’s the problem of young people just not turning up to school.”
Hamilton has been highly effective in using his celebrity and his inspiring rise from humble beginnings to the top echelon of a sport that traditionally has been a bastion for white men. A grant from satcaster Sky helped fund Mission 44’s research on the issue of expulsions. When the meeting with Starmer was arranged, Hamilton ensured that he left 10 Downing Street with commitments for specific actions, not just a photo op.
“This wasn’t about a nice PR moment,” Arthur says. “It was critical that the government did last make commitments in line with [Mission 44] policy recommendations.”
Hamilton has big goals to expand his footprint in Hollywood as a content producer. As befitting a race car driver, Hamilton has gone from zero to 60, jumping in with both feet on a big action movie that has the makings of a summer blockbuster.”
“That is mad for me, for my first project to be so big,” Hamilton admits in an interview from late April. “Normally you want to start small and make your way up to something like this. But what a great place to start.”
Hamilton has all the natural skills to be a great producer, including tenacity and, yes, drive, in the view of “F1” producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
“He’s got the most incredible hand-eye coordination I’ve ever seen,” Bruckheimer says. “Everything he does has to be done to split-second perfection.”
Hamilton’s dedication to infusing racing intensity, backstage drama, driver rivalries and the G-force-in your-face feeling of what it’s like to drive a Formula 1 car was something that only he could bring to the production, says Apple Worldwide Video chief Zack Van Amburg.
“He gave us all the confidence in the world in making this movie,” Van Amburg said. “Without Lewis, we wouldn’t have had the results we had. I don’t think Formula 1, without [Hamilton’s] personal stamp of approval, would have opened up the race tracks the way they did to the film and to the actors who were suddenly out there on the grid with real race cars.”
As “F1” rolls to the starting line for its June 27 release, Hamilton spoke with Variety about his ambition to become a player in the content arena with Dawn Apollo and all that he learned from Bruckheimer and “F1” writer-director Joseph Kosinski during the three-year process of making the film.
Racing has been at the center of your life for so long. What did you learn about the sport while making “F1”?
I grew up loving this sport since I was 4 or 5 years old. So this has been my life and my passion for a long, long time. When you turn the TV on and you watch a race, obviously you see the racing and maybe you see pit stops, but there’s so much more going on in the background. And I love the storytelling. There’s drama, there’s so many characters that people now are getting to see within the years of [Netflix docu series “Drive to Survive”]. But particularly in this movie, you get to see that drama. You get to see this there’s a lot of emotion. There’s a huge amount at stake. There’s the underdog story.
Everyone is talking about the camera technology developed for “F1” and how the racing sequences are like nothing we’ve seen before on film.
Back in the ‘70s and 80s, where they were filming with these huge cameras – you had drivers with these huge cameras on their helmet. So to see how we’ve been able to push technology and utilize the amazing team that Apple has to create these new cameras to get you feeling like you’re in it. There’s only 20 of us who get to race Formula 1, which is kind of crazy with the billions of people on the planet. So we want more and more people to feel what it’s like for us in the racing car. It’s like driving a fighter jet on wheels. The cars beat you up.
As Formula 1 fans know, 2025 is a big year for you in racing with your move to the Ferrari team after years with Mercedes. What’s that been like at a time when you’re also on the world stage with “F1″?
Moving to a new team, this is a new beginning for me this year. But it’s been a huge learning experience for me to get to learn in the presence of Joe and Jerry. Jerry’s just such a legend. He’s done so many great films and Joe is such a perfectionist. It’s been amazing to see all the work that goes on in the background of making a movie. Because I love film. I love watching series, and particularly movies. I watch a lot of movies, and you want one that’s this action-packed, and keeps you on edge the whole way through.
How do you make time for everything you have going on in your professional worlds?
Something I’ve had to learn over time is being able to stay focused. if you go to a Grand Prix, you’ll see there’s so much going on. You’re being pulled left, right and center. You still have to focus on the main job. I would often come to L.A. and be in Jerry’s office, which was mad, or Joe’s studio going through beat by beat the script, the dialog, the terminology that’s authentic to racing drivers, switches, gear shift sounds you’ll hear that are overlapping. I got to get involved in all that. And then we got [composer] Hans Zimmer on board, and we go to his studio and see him create. It’s been an emotional roller coaster.
Your work with Mission 44 and other efforts has had significant impact in the U.K. on the cultural conversation around diversity, equity and inclusion concerns. Why have you invested so much time and energy in talking about these issues?
I grew up in a time where people really put you in a box, and it’s like you can only do one thing. When I was at school, I was very creative, and then when I got into racing, there was a lot that had to be suppressed or put to the side. And as I got older, I really started to have to create space to be able to tap into these different creative outlets, which I have found inspiring and have given me a lot more confidence.
Fashion, for example, has changed everything for me. To be able to turn up and feel the confidence that you do when you like what you’re wearing, it’s been really important. But having collaborations with people, where they pull something out of you that you didn’t even maybe know that you had when you’re in either designing a clothes collection or working on the film.
In the my early part of my career, it was racing, racing, racing, racing and nothing else. And I wasn’t that happy. I was like, I just got to Formula 1. This is what I’ve wanted my whole life, but something’s missing. And it was the balance that I had to start to create without being distracted from the main goal, which is to win. So it’s been great to see that happen.
As I understand, you were closely involved in honing key characters for “F1” to present a particular vision for the future.
I said to Jerry and Joe, when we do this film, we want to make sure that people watching it see what we want [Formula 1] to be in future, so it is super diverse. You’ve got this amazing woman who’s the main engineer [played by Kerry Condon], and you’ve never seen a woman in the pit stop before. These young kids are going to be able to see that it doesn’t matter what your gender is, what your religion is — there’s a place for you. And that’s the part that I wanted to contribute, to make sure to put on the screen.
variety.com
#Lewis #Hamilton #Racing #Making #Movies #Advocating #Inclusion
