ELLE Exclusive: Behind The Grid Of 'F1® The Movie' With Brad Pitt And Damson Idris

In a film where reality blurs with fiction and the roar of engines is very, very real, F1® The Movie brings the high-octane world of Formula 1 to the big screen like never before. Directed by Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick) and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Sir Lewis Hamiltion, the Apple Original stars Brad Pitt as a former F1 legend returning to the grid, with Damson Idris as his, hot-headed teammate.

Shot during actual Grand Prix weekends, featuring our favourite drivers in collaboration with Formula 1 and featuring real teams, drivers, and circuits, the film is ready to deliver a racing movie fuelled with a full-throttle dive into the speed, sweat, and ego of the world’s fastest soap opera.

To celebrate the film's release we spoke to the cast and crew of F1® The Movie about building a fictional team that raced alongside the greats, filming in the chaos of real Grand Prix weekends, and capturing the raw, nerve-rattling thrill of Formula 1 on screen. From engineering custom race cars to squeezing IMAX cameras into carbon-fibre chassis, this is a film where every frame had to earn pole position.

Lights, Camera, Formation Lap

“Filmmaking is a challenge even in a controlled environment. To do it during a live event? That’s a whole other thing,” says director Joseph Kosinski, who’s no stranger to the high-stakes demands of action cinema.  From the start, F1® The Movie was never going to be a simulation. It had to feel real. That meant embedding the fictional APXGP racing team, led by Brad Pitt’s comeback driver Sonny Hayes—into the live Formula 1 calendar. The result? Hundreds of crew members, bespoke race cars, and camera systems seamlessly integrated into some of the busiest pitlanes in motorsport.

“We couldn’t have made this film without the trust and access Formula 1 gave us,” Kosinski adds. “It infused the filmmaking with a kind of kinetic energy you can feel on screen.” At the centre of that integration was Tim Bampton, F1’s long-time insider turned executive producer and project lead. With decades in the sport, Bampton acted as the bridge between the F1 paddock and the film set, ensuring the two worlds could collide, safely. “There were only two non-negotiables,” says Bampton. “Filming had to be safe. And it couldn’t compromise the sport’s integrity. Everything else? Negotiable.”

Inside the Grid

At the 2023 British Grand Prix in Silverstone, fiction met reality as two APXGP cars, custom-built, race-ready machines, lined up behind the 20 official F1 cars for the formation lap. “Most people thought it would never happen,” Bampton recalls. “But after months of walkthroughs and FIA coordination, it worked. And fans at home never suspected a thing. In fact, the APXGP setup slotted right into the paddock, between Ferrari and Mercedes. “We were functioning like any other F1 team,” Kosinski says. “Doing pit stops, racing between sessions.”

Brad Pitt still seems awestruck: “We had our own garage, we filmed on podiums, even during national anthems. The access was unprecedented. It was humbling.”

Designing Speed

The team behind APXGP wasn’t just building props and with help from Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes-AMG team principal Toto Wolff, the filmmakers retrofitted Formula 2 chassis with custom-designed F1-style bodywork. “They could hit 200 mph,” says action vehicles supervisor Graham Kelly. “These were real race cars from day one.”

 

The crew drove them hard, logging thousands of kilometres over months of production. “One of our cars did 9,000 km. That’s more than a full F1 season,” Kelly notes.

Engineering Immersion

Just like in Top Gun: Maverick, Kosinski wanted viewers inside the action. To do that on a lightweight, performance-sensitive F1 car, the cameras had to be smaller, lighter, and smarter than ever before.

Cinematographer Claudio Miranda worked with Sony to create Carmen, a groundbreaking camera system that could deliver IMAX-quality visuals from the floor of a race car. “We had up to 15 mount points per car,” Miranda says. “We could pan, tilt, and remotely control up to 12 camera angles at once—something never done before.”

Then came the Apple partnership. Working with F1 and the FIA, Apple engineered custom iPhone-powered sensors into the cars' official onboard camera pods, matching F1 specs on the outside, with cinematic tech on the inside. These cameras were even used during actual races. “We captured things even the broadcast doesn’t show,” Kosinski says. “We were shooting at angles that feel totally new—almost like being in the car.”

The Human Element

Beyond the machines, the film’s emotional engine is its cast. Brad Pitt plays Sonny Hayes, a former F1 prodigy pulled back onto the grid by his ex-teammate (Javier Bardem) and teamed up with hotshot rookie Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris). Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, and Kim Bodnia round out the ensemble.

Filming during live races meant pressure. “It was like live theatre,” says Condon. “You had one take, sometimes. But that urgency—honestly? I loved it.” And Formula 1 gave more than just space—it gave cameos. Nearly every driver on the grid appears in the film, from Max Verstappen to Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton to Yuki Tsunoda, along with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, team principals like Toto Wolff and Christian Horner, and fan-favourite commentators Crofty, Martin Brundle, and Will Buxton. “It’s not just fan service,” Kosinski says. “It’s world-building. It adds authenticity.”

A Teammate

In F1® The Movie, Damson Idris plays Joshua Pearce, the prodigious, ego-fuelled rookie who finds himself sharing the garage with Brad Pitt’s veteran racer, Sonny Hayes. Pearce is young, lightning-fast, and unapologetically self-assured. The only thing bigger than his talent? His attitude. “In Formula 1, your teammate is also your fiercest competition,” says Kosinski. “And that tension is exactly what we wanted to explore with Joshua and Sonny.”

That central conflict mirrors real life in the sport, where drivers race not only for team glory, but also for individual supremacy. It’s this duality—of being both partners and opponents—that gives their dynamic its fire. For Idris, the role was a balancing act between bravado and vulnerability. “You’re seeing the start of an incredible career,” Kosinski says of his breakout star. “Damson has endless talent—he’s charming, fierce, strong, vulnerable. And he learned to actually drive these cars, at speed, while acting opposite one of the biggest movie stars in the world. He held his own.”

Idris himself describes the experience as a high-speed juggling act: “I’ve gotta drive. I’ve gotta brake. I’ve gotta turn. I’ve gotta say the lines. I’ve got to act well. I’ve got to communicate with radio comms. I’ve got many hats to wear.”

Still, the real thrill came from sharing the screen with Pitt. “Working with Brad is obviously a dream come true,” Idris admits. “I tried not to show it, because of the characters, but come on. It’s Brad Pitt. This was a roller coaster. And having him as a partner on that ride? The greatest feeling.”

A Global Tracklist

From Silverstone to Suzuka, Las Vegas to Mexico City, the film travels with the real F1 calendar. “Each circuit has its own soul,” Kosinski says. “Abu Dhabi feels like the future. Silverstone is history. Mexico’s stadium section is electric. Vegas is pure sci-fi.”

Brad Pitt’s favourite? “Spa, in Belgium. Eau Rouge. It compresses your spine, flings you into an S-curve, and lifts you right out. My first takes were unusable because I couldn’t stop smiling.”

Final Lap

F1® The Movie hits cinemas and IMAX on June 27, 2025, in English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu. For Jerry Bruckheimer, it’s a career highlight: “When you’re filming with the real teams, real drivers, and fans in the stands... it sends a chill down your spine.”

Kosinski agrees. “Our goal was to capture what Lewis experiences in the cockpit. The bravery, the noise, the adrenaline. This is as close as it gets.”

And for Pitt, who spent a year and a half on this high-speed love letter to motorsport: “It started as stepping into someone else’s world. But by the end... it felt like home.”