- Max Verstappen swerved two premiers for Lewis Hamilton’s Hollywood F1 film
- The Dutchman admitted he would rather change nappies than wear a tuxedo
Max Verstappen has admitted that he would prefer to stay at home and look after his two-month old baby rather than attend black tie events after he snubbed two premieres for Lewis Hamilton’s new F1 film.
‘F1’, which counts seven-time world champion Hamilton as an executive producer, was released on Wednesday amid fanfare from fans and drivers.
Formula One stars were given a first glimpse of the movie, starring Brad Pitt and Damson Idris, in a private screening before the Monaco Grand Prix last month.
The film’s premiere in New York was attended by drivers Lando Norris, Ollie Bearmam, Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz.
But Verstappen swerved both events and admitted he has not even watched the film yet, instead preferring to spend time looking after his newborn.
The Red Bull driver welcomed his first child at the beginning of May with partner Kelly Piquet.
The Dutchman, 27, told The Sun: ‘Being authentic is not something I have to try and focus on. It’s just who I am.
‘I don’t like to be on the red carpet and dress up in a suit. I don’t like to interact with people that I don’t really know, and have a fake smile and fake chat. It’s horrible, I just don’t enjoy it.
‘I prefer to hang out with my friends and spend time with my little family. I also have a lot of other projects going on outside of F1.
‘So any extra work like red carpets is not what I want to do. I’m at a stage of my career where I’ve achieved so much professionally.
‘I’m just focusing outside of it now, like my big passions to make life more enjoyable and not just being performance driven.’
‘With the nappies, some are more smelly than others!’
The four-time world champion even declined to take part in an extra nightclub scene for the film with Brad Pitt.
Other drivers took a greater interest in the movie.
‘I’ll just say, for the pure F1 fan, be open-minded to Hollywood films,’ Williams driver Carlos Sainz said.
Formula One teams were keen to help producers and granted the actors unprecedented access to their facilities.
McLaren handed them access to their Woking headquarters while Williams allowed them to use their wind tunnel for four days.
Silverstone was essentially rented out to film-makers for three months in summer 2023, leaving junior drivers unable to use the track.
Hamilton’s production company Dawn Apollo features in the opening credits and has been credited with playing a decisive role as he helped train Pitt and Idris in Formula 2 cars.
Joseph Kosinski, who was behind Top Gun: Maverick, and directed the latest potential blockbuster, revealed ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix: ‘Lewis was the first person I reached out to.
‘I sent him an email and said, “I want to make it as authentic as possible. Will you help me?” And luckily, Lewis said, “Yes”.
‘He was involved in all the technical details with fascinating advice. In Hungary, for instance, he said, “If Brad’s going to let someone pass during a blue flag and he wants it to be as tight as possible, he’s only going to do that at turn six”. That kind of detail, I couldn’t have gotten from anywhere else.’
