Apple CEO and Formula 1 superstar Lewis Hamilton join forces in the film 'F1' to take the tech giant's film business to the next level. More details about the project in an interview with Cook and Hamilton.

Legendary Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton has been collaborating with Apple since 2022 as a producer on the film ‘F1’, a $200 million-plus action movie from Apple Original Films starring Brad Pitt, set for release in Western theaters on June 27.

Apple and Hamilton have invested heavily in the film, and both have much to prove with its global box office success. There is no room for error: ‘F1’ will either soar to become one of the year's biggest hits or be deemed an expensive disappointment. It's a high-stakes gamble on the world stage—a risk that strengthens ties between executives and creatives.

Hamilton, 40, is a seven-time Formula 1 champion, one of the most decorated drivers of all time, and a pioneer in inclusivity in sports and beyond. The British native, who started racing at age 8, is also an entrepreneur, co-owner of the Denver Broncos, and a style icon with a growing clothing line called Plus44.

Hamilton is not only set to celebrate the release of his first major film as a producer but also remains busy competing in the 2025 Formula 1 season, which started in March and ends in December. If F1 fans and other drivers dislike the film, Hamilton will undoubtedly feel it on the tour. He is not worried: “If you look at previous racing movies,” he says, “it's very hard to create an authentic racing feel. This is the best racing movie ever made.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook, meanwhile, is mobilizing significant resources to support the most ambitious film launch campaign in Apple's short production history. The film, led by ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ writer-director Joseph Kosinski, involved a year of developing cutting-edge camera technology to capture the raw power of auto racing. Cook emphasizes that the same technology is built into the latest iPhone camera.

‘F1’ is produced by Apple Original Films, Pitt's Plan B, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, and Hamilton's Dawn Apollo. Warner Bros. handles worldwide theatrical distribution. Hamilton and Apple have also teamed up for a feature-length documentary about his life, expected to get a limited theatrical release. And there are rumors that Apple may bid for U.S. broadcast rights to Formula 1 when the league's current deal expires, starting with the 2026 season. Simply put, Apple is deeply invested in ‘F1’.

Weeks before reports emerged that ‘F1’ is indeed highly anticipated by moviegoers, Cook stated he is confident the film is worthy of the Apple brand. “You can feel like you're in the car with the camera,” he says. “We took care of every detail.”

‘F1’ marks a major milestone for Apple in its expansion over the past half-dozen years of making films and TV shows. Apple is counting on Kosinski and the team behind the 2022 hit ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ to create a hit measured both by its impact on pop culture and filmmaking and by box office revenue. At best, ‘F1’ will become a sensation that spawns a million memes and serves as the engine that accelerates the popularity of Formula 1 racing in the U.S. once and for all.

‘F1’ has been a passion project for Eddy Cue, the architect of Apple's expansion into film and TV production. He is an Apple veteran and racing enthusiast who sits on the board of Ferrari, Hamilton's racing team. His dreams for the film are even grander than a nine-figure opening weekend: “I hope that when most people watch the film, they walk out wanting to become racers,” Cue says.

According to Cook, ‘F1’ is the perfect vehicle to test Apple's ability to influence culture through the soft power of a widely accessible film, rather than through the hardware of its computers and smartphones.

“Bringing to life something that would be authentic to the sport, that also tells a great story about the ups and downs of life—‘F1’ touched on all those things,” Cook says.

Kosinski felt Apple's support throughout the film's creation. With Apple's backing and Hamilton's connections, Kosinski was allowed to shoot ‘F1’ at numerous Grands Prix in the 2023 and 2024 seasons. The film crew became an unofficial 11th team on the track, with its own paddock at the center of the action to better capture racing sequences.

At times, Kosinski had up to 28 cameras running simultaneously at key events. In total, over 5,000 hours of footage were shot.

“The world of Formula 1 is about pushing technological boundaries—it's built into the sport,” Kosinski says. “It aligns well with Apple's ethos.” He adds that the film “ultimately became an incredible partnership between two giant brands. It was necessary to make this happen.”

Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of ‘Top Gun’, ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’, ‘Beverly Hills Cop’, and other hits, agrees. “It was a massive production,” he says. “I've never seen a company put everything they have into a film like this.”

As befits a company with a market capitalization measured in trillions of dollars ($3.1 trillion as of June 2), Apple's bar for success is high. Steve Jobs, the late co-founder and Cook's predecessor as CEO, established from the start that the Apple brand must be revered. Jobs was light-years ahead in understanding the immense value for a tech firm in creating a consumer brand with titanium strength, synonymous with innovation, creativity, and coolness. The apple logo and what it means in consumers' minds are an incalculable part of that $3 trillion valuation.

Like Cue, Cook has a clear vision of what Apple TV+ and Apple Original Films bring to the company. “We stand at the intersection of technology and the humanities,” Cook says. “We wanted Apple TV+ to be a place where great storytellers tell their best stories.”

Apple TV+ streaming launched in November 2019. Cue and Cook note that 2025 will be the service's first year with a carefully planned full-year schedule, without the extra burden of a global pandemic or two strikes in 2023 that disrupted production for six months. “I finally feel like we've reached a point where our schedule hasn't been affected by strikes or COVID,” Cue says.

Apple could have easily entered the industry through mergers and acquisitions, buying a major studio or content library. The company, with a cash reserve of $30 billion, could well afford a major deal that could happen overnight. But Apple's philosophy has always been to build, not buy—since Jobs and co-founder Steve Wozniak worked in their garage in the mid-1970s.

“We decided not to acquire a ready-made catalog. I know it's a faster path into the business, but ultimately it doesn't feel like Apple,” Cook says. “Apple must have something we put our passion into, and that's what we do with our shows. And now you can see we're gaining momentum. It feels great.”

When asked what Apple's investments in films and series mean for the company overall, Cook explained that Apple is essentially a “toolmaker,” supplying computers and other devices that help users unlock their creativity.

“We are toolmakers,” Cook repeated. “We create tools for creative people to enable them to do what was previously impossible. So we worked a lot with Hollywood long before we entered the TV business.”

“We studied this for many years before deciding to launch Apple TV+. I know there are many different opinions about why we got involved. We do it to tell great stories, and we want it to be a successful business. That's why we do it, plain and simple.”

Indeed, Apple has faced questions from Wall Street about the broader strategy of investing in film and television. Unlike most streaming services, the company does not disclose the number of Apple TV+ subscribers and does not break out the service's financial results separately, including them in the “Services” segment alongside revenue from music, games, the App Store, and other areas.

Media analysts and experts have wondered how Apple's content arm ties into hardware sales, which are the core of the business. According to Cook, that's not the main point, though such connections arise organically, as seen with F1 and camera technology. “I don't think it will drive iPhone sales,” Cook says. “I don't think about that at all. For me, it's a business. And just as we use Apple's best capabilities in iPhone and services, we try to use the best in Apple TV+.”

Apple certainly wasn't obligated to break into the volatile world of show business. But ten years ago, on the eve of the streaming wars and the “Peak TV” boom, Cue sensed an opportunity. “We always believed that art is a big part of our DNA,” he says. “But we never planned to make films or TV shows.” However, with the rise of streaming platforms, “we saw the world changing, and it seemed like everyone was chasing quantity. We thought there was an opportunity for us if we really focused on high quality,” he adds.

Looking back, iTunes and the App Store became stepping stones for Apple into the world of media and entertainment. Unlike Silicon Valley neighbors like Google and Facebook, Apple invested its money and reputation in producing TV series and major films with big budgets, such as Martin Scorsese's 2023 epic historical film ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ with a $200 million budget and a three-and-a-half-hour runtime.

Cue spent two years searching and getting recommendations from entertainment industry veterans to find the right executives for Apple's entry into Hollywood. In 2017, Apple brought in Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht as heads of Apple Worldwide Video, responsible for all of the company's TV and film production. At the time, Van Amburg and Erlicht were co-heads of Sony Pictures Television, having found success with AMC Network's critically acclaimed dramas ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Better Call Saul’.

Two years later, Apple TV+ launched alongside Disney+. Disney had ‘The Mandalorian’, which immediately grabbed attention, while Apple had ‘The Morning Show’ starring Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, and Billy Crudup. Nine months later, despite the pandemic, Apple TV+ achieved global success with the series ‘Ted Lasso’ starring Jason Sudeikis in August 2020.

The service's recent projects—‘The Studio’ with Seth Rogen, ‘Friends and Neighbors’ with Jon Hamm, the second season of ‘Severance’, ‘Shrinking’ with Jason Segel and Harrison Ford, ‘Slow Horses’ with Gary Oldman, ‘Disclaimer’ with Cate Blanchett, ‘Palm Royale’ with Kristen Wiig and Carol Burnett, ‘Dark Matter’ with Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly—have been particularly successful. The list of celebrities collaborating with Apple seems endless.

“We worked for five and a half years to become an ‘overnight’ success,” Van Amburg jokes.
Ben Stiller, executive producer of ‘Severance’, credits Van Amburg, Erlicht, and Cue for creating a supportive and cohesive atmosphere for creatives. “They are very open to the exchange of ideas that comes with the creative process,” he says. “It feels like a family. They really care about what they create, and they make a personal connection.”

Apple's film division, led by Matt Dentler, developed more slowly due to pandemic-related restrictions. Last year, Apple abruptly changed plans for a wide theatrical release of the film ‘Wolfs’ starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt, partly due to lukewarm reviews. The move raised questions about the company's commitment to theatrical exhibition of its films.

In 2018, when Lewis Hamilton learned that Tom Cruise and Joseph Kosinski were working on a sequel to the 1986 film ‘Top Gun’, he contacted Cruise to get Kosinski's contact information. Hamilton sent the director a letter expressing interest in a supporting role in the film. They discussed the possibility of Hamilton playing Lieutenant Mickey “Fanboy” Garcia.

However, it became clear over time that Hamilton could not film in California while continuing his Formula 1 career. So the race won out (the role went to actor Danny Ramirez).

Hamilton is candid about being on the cusp of change in his professional life. Racing is largely a young person's sport. But Hamilton, who has over 39 million Instagram followers, will have many opportunities when he leaves the track. Just a month ago, his status in the fashion world rose significantly when he co-chaired the Met Gala with Anna Wintour. One such opportunity is involvement in television and film.

“At some point, I'll have to stop racing,” he says. “I really love cinema and am very enthusiastic about building Dawn Apollo and bringing in the right people. And having a partner like Apple supporting me in this process? There's no better partner I could work with.”

But it was Kosinski who reached out to Hamilton a few years after their communication about ‘Maverick’, when the director thought about making an F1 film. He became passionate about the sport after binge-watching all seasons of Drive to Survive on Netflix during the pandemic.

Kosinski, Hamilton, and Bruckheimer met at the San Vicente Bungalows in West Hollywood to discuss a film that would offer unprecedented visuals and a spectacular storyline with a real movie star—Brad Pitt. Hamilton used all his connections with the league to secure access for the film crew. Hamilton and other Formula 1 drivers appear in the film in cameo roles as themselves.

The film ‘F1’ will have a limited release starting June 27, before joining the Apple TV+ catalog.

Translation and adaptation of material from Variety