Written by Cindy Tome, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
The name might still be unknown, but you must have heard of a Formula One movie being filmed at Silverstone, during the British Grand Prix weekend. If not, don’t worry, here is a heads up of the appearance of a surprise "11th F1 Team" in the F1 paddock of the Northamptonshire Circuit.
It’s no secret that ever since the Netflix series “Formula 1:Drive to Survive” Formula 1’s popularity and interest has grown exponentially. And it seems to be another reunion of Hollywood and Formula 1, once again. Brad Pitt and Co-star Damson Idris were spotted filming over the weekend in Silverstone at the British Grand Prix.
The fictional team, APXGP, had its own pit-stop /garage at the track, and both actors drove adapted Formula Two golden and black cars, specially prepared by the Mercedes team, as reported by BBC News. Formula One even released a glimpse in their social media accounts of the fictional team’s car before the Grand Prix.
Many scenes were recorded in a real environment, such as the starting grid, which witnessed both actors walk among the cars, drivers, mechanics, engineers, and right in the thick of action. Although, according to AUTOACTION, it is also expected that computer generated imagery will be used in post-production, to make it seem APXGP’s drivers are part of this season’s grid.
But, what is the movie about?
Speaking to former British racing Champion and Sky Sports presenter, Martin Brundle, Brad Pitt has revealed some key plot details about one of the most eagerly-anticipated future F1 movie releases.
Fans can expect the main star to impersonate Sonny Hayes, a Formula 1 driver racing in the 90’s that, according to Pitt, has a “horrible crash, craps out and disappears, then he’s racing in other disciplines”. That is until he is contacted by his friend, played by actor Javier Bardem, who owns last placed APXGP team and has “young phenomenon” Joshua Pearce as a driver, played by Damson Idris. Pitt adds his character “happens like a Hail Mary” to the fictional Scuderia and to his teammate.
When will it be released?
The exact date for when the movie will be available has not been released yet, although it is expected to be launched late 2024 or early 2025.
Who is producing it?
This is an Apple Original Films production, directed and produced by Joseph Kosinski, the name behind blockbuster success “Top Gun: Maverick”. It is also co-produced by seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton, under his Dawn Apollo Films banner feature, alongside Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman, of Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Plan B Entertainment.
How is Lewis Hamilton involved?
Besides co-producing, Hamilton has been heavily involved in the behind-the scenes of the movie. He has been part of the casting process to find Brad Pitt's co-star Damson Idris, and is also expected to engage in a consultant role to make the movie as realistic as possible, as reported by AUTOACTION .
How is Formula 1 involved and what have they said about the movie?
According to BBC News, this movie is being made in collaboration with Formula One, which allows the project to have special access, not only to the racetracks, but also the drivers.
However, even though everyone seems very excited about the movie, series President and CEO, Stefano Domenicalli, has cautioned that the production has to be controlled by Formula One in order to avoid disturbing or interfering with the already complex race weekends, since it will be “quite invasive”, adverted Domenicalli during a meeting with Formula One investors, as per Motorsports.com.
No doubt that the untitled film is important to promote the sport above all. As Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei mentioned, Formula One cannot rely on the Netflix Series “F1:Drive to Survive” in the long run, as it can be read in the motorsports.com article.
“As much as Drive to Survive is enormous to a lot of people around the world, I still go places and people say, ‘Huh?’ Its audience is not that big. It may be big among this group, but it's not that big”, said Maffei.
So, this production is seen as another opportunity to the Formula one community to showcase something different, or like Maffei stressed on, something “fresh” and “game-changing” to keep promoting the sport, and above all, reaching an even larger audience.