10 Behind-The-Scenes Ways “F1 The Movie” Brings Fans Closer To Racing Action

Hollywood has long celebrated the thrill and excitement of automotive racing. Films such as Grand Prix (1966), Le Mans (1971), and Ford v Ferrari (2019) are just a handful of cinematic masterpieces that have immersed movie fans in the drama, intensity, and danger of the sport. This summer, Brad Pitt stars in F1 the Movie (2025). The thriller is about an aging racing driver who climbs into the driver’s seat of an F1—arguably the most challenging and physically demanding of all race cars—to save APXGP, an underdog team, from collapse.

Automotive racing is exceptionally challenging to film. Conveying speed on camera requires dynamic camera angles and equipment that doesn’t add excessive weight or aerodynamic drag—both affect handling—or compromise safety. Thankfully, talented filmmakers continuously innovate to blur the lines between cinema and real-world motorsport action.

Here are ten ways F1 the Movie pushed movie-making boundaries to bring moviegoers even closer to the action:

1. The F1 team worked closely with the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile), the governing body of Formula 1, to ensure authenticity. To ensure accuracy, filmmakers were granted access to real race weekends, allowed to use authentic footage from 2023 and 2024 World Championships, worked with F1 teams and drivers—both appeared throughout the film—an filmed at official venues such as Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium), Monza (Italy), Silverstone (UK), Mexico City, and the Hungaroring (Hungary).
2. Seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton was brought on as a producer and technical advisor. Hamilton worked alongside director Joseph Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer to refine the story, add details to the script, and ensure that everything, from the driving line and technical jargon to the emotional motivation of the drivers, was authentic. He even acted as a driving instructor to train Brad Pitt and Damson Idris.
3. Automakers with decades of racing experience, including Porsche and McLaren, participated in the production. Porsche wrapped one of its real Porsche 911 GT3 R race cars in the fictional APXGP livery and brought it to top endurance events, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Daytona, for racing scenes and promotion. McLaren permitted its futuristic-looking McLaren Technology Centre, the UK headquarters of the McLaren Group and its subsidiaries, to be cast as APXGP team headquarters.
4. Brad Pitt underwent extensive training as part of his preparation for the film. He honed basic skills in high-performance street cars, then advanced to open-wheel (track-only) Formula 3 cars. After mastering the F3, he advanced to Formula 2 cars. Eventually, Pitt climbed into the cockpit of an authentic McLaren F1 car (2023 MCL60) at Circuit of the Americas in Texas. The company’s CEO, Zak Brown, helped facilitate the on-track experience.
5. Real race cars were modified for filming. Brad Pitt, the movie’s lead, drove a heavily modified Dallara F2 2018. Its turbocharged 3.4-liter V6 race engine was replaced with a less complex electric motor, offering smaller packaging, reduced noise, and fewer vibrations. Mercedes also custom-designed aerodynamic bodies for the vehicle, allowing it to resemble a modern Formula 1 car closely. Mercedes was also instrumental in packaging the movie-specific equipment, such as the intricate camera mounts, within the vehicle.
6. The crew filmed at actual F1 races. Brad Pitt joined real F1 drivers, including Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, on the grid—this required precision in scheduling, as there were often only a few minutes between the events. Filming at Grand Prix weekends also meant that the crowds were authentic—no need to have paid stand-ins or actors when tens of thousands of genuine race fans were cheering in the background.
7. Sony developed a prototype Rialto camera to bring audiences closer to the action. The unique apparatus separated the camera body from the sensor, allowing the lens to be even closer to the action. This innovation permitted more immersive in-car shots from unprecedented angles. The director was able to follow the action with live feeds streamed back to the control station during takes.
8. Filmmakers mounted IMAX-certified digital cameras directly onto the modified F2 cars. Upwards of 15 cameras per vehicle ensured an immersive viewing experience. And the entire film is presented in IMAX’s 1.90:1 expanded aspect ratio (revealing up to 26% more image), thus presenting more of the cockpit, track, and crowd to make the film feel more expansive and intense.
9. The film didn’t rely on stationary rigs, blue screens, and stunt doubles. Most traditional Hollywood-style racing movies lean on special effects and stand-ins to replace the action and actors. F1 the Movie placed its stars in authentic racing cars. Thanks to their extensive training, Brad Pitt and Damson Idris performed much of their own driving and on-track stunts, which allowed them to drive at blistering speeds of upwards of 180 mph.
10. Director Joseph Kosinski mirrored a technique from “Top Gun: Maverick.” To blur the lines between fiction and reality, he utilizing digital “skinning.” This process, which was used in his previous blockbuster, allowed his team to overlay Ferrari livery (and other F1 team designs) onto the custom-built F2 cars in the film.