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Lewis Hamilton was meant to be in Top Gun: Maverick but had to make ‘most upsetting call’ of his life

Home> Formula 1

Updated 20:08 11 Aug 2022 GMT+1Published 10:32 10 Aug 2022 GMT+1

Lewis Hamilton was meant to be in Top Gun: Maverick but had to make ‘most upsetting call’ of his life

Hamilton is good friends with Tom Cruise

Daniel Marland

Daniel Marland

Lewis Hamilton was offered a part in summer blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick - but Formula One commitments forced him to turn it down.

The Mercedes driver is close friends with Tom Cruise, who plays main character Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell in the franchise.

Top Gun: Maverick was 36 years in the making and has taken almost $1.3 billion at the global box office since releasing in May.

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It's officially the biggest movie of 2022 and Hamilton nearly had a small role in it. However, the F1 calendar forced him to politely decline.

Hamilton following a race. (Image
Alamy)

"Basically I'm a friend of Tom [Cruise]," Hamilton recently told Vanity Fair.

"One of the nicest people you'll ever meet. He invited me to his set years ago when he was doing Edge of Tomorrow, and then we just built a friendship over time.

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"When I heard the second one was coming out, I was like, 'Oh, my God, I have to ask him'. I said 'I don't care what role it is. I'll even sweep something, be a cleaner in the back'."

The 37-year-old would've had a cameo as a fighter pilot but he quickly realised it'd clash with his preparations for races.

"I'm a perfectionist," the seven-time world champion said. "There just wasn't time."

Hamilton and Cruise embrace at the British Grand Prix earlier this year. (Image
Alamy)

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He then went on to claim turning the role down was 'the most upsetting call that I think I've ever had'.

Hamilton is yet to win a race in 2022 after dramatically losing out on the title to Max Verstappen last year.

His current contract expires in 2023 and retirement rumours have swirled for months.

Despite that, he's happy with Mercedes and is already thinking about a new deal.

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"I'll be lying if I said that I hadn't thought about extending," he continued.

Hamilton ahead of last month's French Grand Prix. (Image
Alamy)

"I'm still on the mission, I'm still loving driving, I'm still being challenged by it. So I don't really feel like I have to give it up anytime soon.

"It doesn't make me think about my future, but it is a reminder that I am in that part of my career that people I came up with and have raced for so long will start to stop."

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: Lewis Hamilton

Daniel Marland
Daniel Marland

Daniel is a social editor for SPORTbible after moving from the writing team. Nearly scored past Stormzy at Old Trafford once.

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@DanMarland_

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