Jan.23 (GMM) Formula 1’s push into Hollywood has landed on the sport’s biggest cultural stage, with the F1 movie receiving multiple nominations for the Academy Awards.
The film earned nods in Best Picture, Film Editing, Sound, and Visual Effects, putting it among the most prominent contenders ahead of the 98th Academy Awards, to be held on March 15, 2026 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
The Best Picture nomination is particularly notable for Formula 1, reflecting how deeply embedded the production became within the paddock during filming across the 2023-2024 seasons. The project was backed by heavyweight producers and featured unprecedented access to race weekends, teams, and drivers.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton played a key role behind the scenes as a producer, helping shape the film’s authenticity and ensuring the racing elements reflected modern Formula 1 as closely as possible. Hamilton has previously described the project as a chance to “show the sport as it really is,” both on and off the track.
Not everyone, however, has welcomed the film’s awards-season elevation. Writing for Radio Times, senior film critic Patrick Cremona questioned the movie’s Best Picture nomination, describing it as emblematic of a new kind of “Oscar-bait”.
“The racing scenes are filmed well, and the nominations in the editing and sound categories are perhaps fair enough,” Cremona wrote, “but it seems bizarre to recognise a film with such a formulaic approach to storytelling as one of the year’s best.”
He argued that the production often feels less like a cinematic statement and more like a polished branding exercise for the sport, calling it “an empty spectacle – a well-crafted corporate exercise masquerading as a film,” and suggesting it was “more suited for an advertising award than an Academy Award.”