Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has been crucial in ensuring the ‘F1’ film is as realistic as possible, according to producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
‘F1’ will be released in the summer of 2025 depicting former driver Sonny Hayes, Brad Pitt’s character, coming out of retirement to mentor rookie Joshua Pearce, played by Damson Idris.
Hamilton has played a key role in the film’s production by involving himself in the scriptwriting process and providing technical consultancy to ensure the racing scenes are accurate.
“Lewis keeps us honest,” said Bruckheimer. “He looks at every race and he’d say, ‘you wouldn't be in second gear in this moment. You'd be in first’.
“He comes in and he can hear the engine and the shifting and everything like that. So he looks at every race scene, and he also said, ‘in order to get one of these cars, you really have to be in shape’.
“So we had Brad training. We do a lot of stuff like that, thanks to his info.”
This has been done to maintain the legitimacy of the film, which is due to be released internationally on 25 June 2025 and two days later in the United States.
Apple Senior Vice President of Services Eddy Cue, said: “One of the things that I love that we're doing as part of this, is we wanted the racing to be real.
“Lewis has helped tremendously. He was listening - even the sound of going around a curve in the car, and he's like, ‘that sound isn't right on that track. That's not what it sounds like’.
“You want that. It's always about the story but we wanted the racing scenes to really be legit and be the real thing. I think it's been captured, Lewis has been great about that.”
Part of that process has also included speaking to other F1 drivers so their journeys are reflected through the characters.
“A lot of the things that are embedded in our characters come from the drivers,” Bruckheimer said.
“We interviewed a lot of them, and they were very open about their experiences, what they went through getting to F1.
“We took little things that a driver did about his superstitions, and then Brad has that in his character."
Footage of filming on grand prix weekends has been leaked online, yet that is of no worry to the production team who believe it is actually helping to build excitement for the release.
“So far, we're okay,” said Cue. “No one's sure what’s coming around the corner. If you go on the set of a movie and you get a clip of it, you would have no idea what the hell's going on, right?
“Because it's not like it's shot in sequence. I saw this thing on YouTube of Brad fainting but you have no idea of the context. So I actually think all of it helps.”
Asked whether the footage of Pitt collapsing stayed within the realms of reality, Cue referenced Romain Grosjean’s crash at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix where his Haas car burst into flames after hitting the barrier at 67G.
“I saw a guy walk out of a fire,” said Cue. “So I think passing out is pretty real!”
Those thoughts were echoed by Bruckheimer, who said: “A lot of the incidents in the movie are taken from actual events, stories.
“Everything that Brad does on the track - the tricks that he does - drivers have done through the decades in various races, because he doesn't have the fastest car and he's not the fastest driver, so he has to use clever tactics to stay up with these others.”
