Will Smith has said he ‘may not’ be in the Formula One film being made by Lewis Hamilton, though he had admitted he’d like to be.
It would be difficult to write a story about Formula One better than the end of the 2021 season, when Hamilton lost out to Max Verstappen in controversial and dramatic circumstances on the final lap of the final race.
Even late into last season fans were hoping that the decision was going to be overturned, especially when it transpired Red Bull had broken the budget.
Fortunately the decision wasn’t overturned because, error or not, no one wants a title to go down to appeal and counter appeal, if nothing else, it wouldn’t make a good film.
Of course, there’s no suggestion that it will be made into a movie any time soon, even though Hamilton is set to produce a Formula One film.
Apple bought the rights to the project last year, that the seven time world champion is a major part of, along with Brad Pitt, that is set to have a $140 million budget.
At the weekend, Will Smith revealed that he’s not been approached by the Mercedes driver to be involved, but he’d like to be asked.
“I haven’t been asked yet but I would love to,” the Oscars winner told Sky Sports.
“I might have to work on this gut though, it doesn’t fit in the car too well.”
Certainly the sport has a handy knack of inspiring excellent films, with Senna, Rush and Ford vs Ferrari all having been given excellent reviews.
They make it a tough act to follow, but that isn’t putting the Formula One driver off trying to live up those titles, instead expecting to go beyond them.
“I have such high hopes for it,” the former McLaren driver said last year.
“I know we’re going to make the best racing movie that’s ever existed, both visually, and we’re going to work on making sure we pull on the heartstrings of all those fans.”
He has plenty of inspiration from his own career if he’s looking for a good storyline, although maybe he’ll pick the Brazilian Grand Prix from 2018 for a happier ending than 2021.
