Sir Lewis Hamilton is the reason why F1 pundits David 'Crofty' Croft and Martin Brundle bagged a part in F1.

The seven-time world champion F1 racer touched Crofty - who has been lead commentator for Sky's Formula One coverage since 2012 - by his special request to have the pair in the Brad Pitt and Damson Idris-starring motorsport movie.

Crofty told Sky Sports: "If it wasn't for Lewis, I wouldn't be in the film.

"He sat down with Jerry Bruckheimer (producer) and Joe Kosinski (director) and said: 'Look, if you want to make it authentic in terms of the commentary, don't get an actor, get Crofty and Martin to do it because they're the voice.'

"And so I'm really glad to say that the producers agreed with Lewis on that and I thanked him for it a couple of years ago.

"He said well you don't have to thank me and I said no, you said a really nice thing and I really appreciate it."

Hamilton was one of the producers of the flick and loved every second.

He told Extra: "I love how it all came out.

"It's been like four years we've been working on it, so it's been a long, long road.

"I've never been a part creating a movie from the first treatment to working on the script to working on the characters to watching all the different videotapes of the actors doing their scenes."

The sports star said of the cast and crew: "We really brought on the best cast. The cast has been incredible … The crew in the background who made this movie what it is today, I'm so grateful to them."

The 40-year-old driver actually got to take Brad, who plays has-been Sonny Hayes, on a racing track for the first time and said he was a natural.

He shared: "I got to take Brad out for the first time a couple years ago on a track and then I said, 'Show me what you can do.' And he took me out on a lap and straight away I could see he was already a bit of a racing driver … I wasn't scared for him."

By contrast, Damson, who is Hayes' team mate Joshua Pearce, was far less comfortable on a race track.

Hamilton recalled: "I was a little bit scared, because I don't think Damson grew up watching ... like, black families don't grow up watching racing … I think he probably was thrown in the deep end, but he did such an amazing job."