Formula 1 team bosses have talked up the exposure the Brad Pitt-led F1 movie will bring to the sport when it lands in theatres this summer.
Top Gun Maverick director Joseph Kosinski has partnered with producers Brad Pitt, Jerry Bruckheimer and Lewis Hamilton to create a realistic racing movie centred around Pitt’s character, Sonny Hayes.
They have filmed several scenes across different F1 tracks, including Silverstone and Las Vegas last season, going as far as to film Pitt on track during and in between practice sessions.
F1 is set to boast realism never-before-seen in a racing movie and the latest trailer demonstrated several pulse-raising scenes at the heart of the Grand Prix spectacle.
Upon its international release date on June 25, F1 is set to take the sport into the mainstream, perhaps beyond the realms achieved by Netflix’s Drive to Survive.
“I think it’s going to create a lot more exposure for Formula 1,” said McLaren CEO Zak Brown.
“I think—if you think back to Top Gun—everyone wanted to be a fighter pilot and Tom Cruise after watching that movie.
“I think that’ll be the case with Brad Pitt and motor racing. So I think it’ll bring in some more fans, continue to bring in a more diverse fan base, a younger fan base. I think it’ll be great exposure for our sport.”
F1 produces make ‘great movies’ – Horner
Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner hailed the creatives behind F1 and talked up the movie’s potential for putting the sport in front of new eyes and ears.
“Yeah, it’s truly exciting. Jerry Bruckheimer just produces great movies,” Horner said.
“I think this movie—from what we’ve seen so far—puts Formula 1 on the big screen.
“The way they’ve played out the story, it interacts with the last couple of years of racing on track. In terms of the value added that it brings the sport, to our partners, to the brands associated with Formula 1, it puts it in front of yet another audience.
“I’m sure the storyline will fit all categories, but in terms of exposure for Formula 1, it’s outstanding. Looking forward to seeing it released, I think, in the summer of this year.”
The film focuses on Hayes, a retired F1 driver who suffered a life-changing incident in the 1990s and is making a comeback decades later with a struggling team, APX GP.
F1 drivers, including Hamilton, Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen, are rumoured to have cameos in the film alongside glimpses of the real cars on track.
Alpine Team Principal Oliver Oakes said, “It’s exciting for F1. I think a whole new audience will potentially get hooked on the sport.
“You could see it at the launch in London, as soon as they put a snippet on the screen, everybody was sort of excited and looking when it was coming out. Yeah, looking forward to it.”
Pitt is joined in the cast by Damson Idris, portraying his maverick young team-mate Joshua Pearce, Javier Bardem’s team owner Ruben, and Oscar-nominated Kerry Condon’s technical expert Kate.
READ MORE – Brad Pitt stars in new F1 movie trailer
