In the round-up: Charles Leclerc insists that having Brad Pitt and Lewis Hamilton’s movie production crew in the paddock will not be a distraction for him or his fellow drivers.
In brief
Movie crews won’t disrupt paddock, Leclerc insists
A film production crew, Dawn Apollo Films – set up by Lewis Hamilton – will be filming on location in the F1 paddock across the rest of the 2023 season as part of a movie about Formula 1 starring Brad Pitt.
Asked by RaceFans whether having the filming crews around the paddock would be a distraction to drivers and teams, Leclerc replied: “No, I don’t think it is.”
“In the end, one more camera or one less camera, I don’t think we realise it that much,” Leclerc continued.
“I think it’s amazing for the sport, though, I think it’s great. It gives us a really big visibility, big reach to people that might not know or might not be interested so much into Formula 1 just for them to understand it in a better way, in a more lucrative way and with the movie I think is the best possible way. So no or at least for me, it won’t add any pressure, but I don’t think for anybody, as we are getting used to having cameras around.”
Reports elsewhere suggesting Pitt will be driving an F1 car in official session as part of filming plans are not correct – the actor will instead be driving either a modified F2 or F3 car which will be driven only outside of official track activity.
Hamilton to run pride flag on Miami helmet
Lewis Hamilton says he will race with a pride flag on his helmet once again this weekend in Miami in support of the LGBTQ+ community in the midst of a ongoing statewide suppression of their rights.
The Floridian state legislature has passed a series of bills and laws to target rights of LGBTQ people in the state. Asked by RaceFans if questions should be asked about whether it was appropriate to be racing in Miami, which is in Florida, Hamilton said it was “not for me to decide something like that.”
“I have read about some of the decisions that have been made in government here, and I do not agree with it and I do not support it,” Hamilton continued. “And I really do continue to stand with the LGBTQ community. I continue to wear the rainbow flag on my helmet this weekend. And I just really want to continue to support the community here and let them know that I stand with them. And I hope that they continue to fight against it.
“It’s not the people of Miami that are making these decisions…
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