By: Joshua Dong

Recently there has been no shortage of F1 racing movies. “Grand Prix”, a movie which tells the story of Grand Prix driver Pete Aron after he crashes into his teammate, and “Rush”, a movie about the rivalry of F1 drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda are among the more popular of these films. Another F1 driving movie is about to come into the market, from Apple Studios, Plan B Entertainment, and Jerry Bruckheimer Films. It’s about a fictional Formula 1 team APXGP and its two drivers, Sonny Hayes and Joshua Pearce, who are played by Brad Pitt and Damson Idris. This film aims to differ from its predecessors however–everything will be much more immersive and real than in other movies.

Pitt plays “a guy who raced in the ’90s, has a horrible crash, kind of craps out, disappears and then races in other disciplines,” he said while in an interview with Sky Sports F1.

The team owner in real life is Pitt’s friend, Javier Bardem. “They’re the last-place team — 21, 22 on the grid — they’ve never scored a point, have a young phenom played by Damson, and he brings me in as a kind of a Hail Mary, and high jinks ensue,” says Pitt.

What is special about this particular F1 movie is that it is going to be as authentic as possible. “[Clips] were captured at real races with real drivers, and that’s certainly been an inspiration for me in conceiving this project that’s been almost two years in the making,” Joseph Kosinski, the movie’s director, said. “I like doing ambitious projects, and this one is probably the most ambitious I’ve ever taken on. Our aim is to make one of the most authentic racing films ever.”

To record the movie, Kosinski’s team has worked with Mercedes-AMG to make a Formula 2 racecar into a replica of Formula 1 racecar with 15 camera mounts. Cameras positioned around the track will also record racing footage at multiple Grands Prix during the racing season. Techniques developed while filming “Top Gun: Maverick” will be also utilized to make it look like the APXGP racecars are in the race.

“The movie should be as authentic as we can get it,” Pitt said. “You’ll see the cameras mounted all over the car. The shots — you’ve never seen speed, you’ve never seen G-forces like this. It’s really exciting.”

Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time F1 champion driving a Mercedes is working with Kosinski to help ensure authenticity. “I’ve spent time with Joe, trying to make sure we’ve got the best camera positions,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton observed Pitt’s driving skills while Pitt practiced and noted that they are very impressive for someone who was only trained by driving karts and open-wheel cars before moving on to Formula 2. Pitt loves watching Grand Prix motorcycle racing, so he is a huge racing enthusiast and fully engaged in driving a racecar.

When Pitt attended the driver’s briefing, a meeting with the race director of the FIA to discuss issues from the previous event and potential issues for the upcoming event, George Russell, Hamilton’s teammate at Mercedes thought it was very bizarre to have Pitt involved.

“It’s only when you get to be with those individuals — whether it’s Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt or Roger Federer, whoever it is you’ve been fortunate enough to meet — that you recognize they’re just normal human beings,” Russell said. “He was joking around, having a good time and just being one of the boys.”

Stefano Domenicali, Formula 1’s chief executive and president, thought the chance for a movie about F1 racing was too great to let slip past. Even though a movie about racing is great for spreading the audience for Formula 1 on its own, he wants genuine and authentic racing in the film.

Domenicali says, “But we have been clear, and the Apple team fully agrees: It needs to be authentic in order to show the real Formula 1. So, the fact the scenes for the movie are being filmed during Grand Prix weekends adds drama and authenticity.”

The film companies involved are taking the movie’s realism to the max. As Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the president of the FIA says, “We have been able to work together to provide unprecedented access to live moments, which I am sure has never been done before at this level in a filming project.”