New York doesn’t usually stop for much, but when the likes of Brad Pitt, Lewis Hamilton, and much of the Formula 1 grid descend on the Big Apple, things slow down a bit to catch in on all the action. Under the glow of neon lights and the iconic billboards at Times Square, the heart of Manhattan was transformed into a pit lane of glitz and glamor for the world premiere of the highly anticipated Formula 1 The Movie. Ditching their racing overalls for sharp suits, much of the current crop of F1 drivers, from Charles LeClerc of Ferrari, Lando Norris of McLaren, and more, were in attendance, giving interviews in the heart of Times Square. Team bosses like Toto Wolff, Christian Horner, and Frédéric Vasseur were seen alongside Hollywood elites.
Apple Original Films, which has teamed up with Warner Bros to produce this high-octane racing film, meant we also saw some pretty high-profile Apple execs at the event, including CEO Tim Cook. Speaking of Apple, just days ago at the tech giant’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), their VP of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi, was seen in a fictional opening sequence in full race gear in an F1 car atop Apple Park’s roof, which was transformed into a race track. A hint of Apple’s deep dive into F1, perhaps?
Finally, Brad Pitt, the protagonist in the film, and co-star Damson Idris posed in front of the cameras alongside Lewis Hamilton. Working with Apple, the seven-time F1 world champion served as producer of the film. Lending his insights from inside the paddock, the British grand prix driver played a key role in ensuring the racing in the film looked and sounded as close to the real thing as possible. His involvement in the movie extended beyond creative inputs, and he collaborated closely with director Joseph Kosinski and Jerry Bruckheimer to help shape the story, team culture, and even the on-screen race gear.
Set to hit theaters on June 25 (Internationally), June 27 (North America), the film follows a fictional team called APEX Racing (APXGP) with Pitt playing a retired driver making a dramatic return to the grid with Idris casr as the team’s rising star. The film isn’t CGI-heavy, as the cars featured are modified Formula 2 machines, convincingly upgraded and wrapped to look like F1 cars. To capture the energy and drama of a Formula 1 race, parts of the film were shot during real Grand Prix weekends at venues like Silverstone, SPA, and Abu Dhabi.
The profile of the pinnacle of motorsports has never been higher in the United States. Since the takeover by Liberty Media, F1’s presence has only grown in America, with the race in Austin being joined by Las Vegas and Miami, which has been extended until 2041. While Netflix’s Drive to Survive helped popularize the sport on the small screen, the Formula 1 The Movie aims to do the same, this time on the silver screen.
Source: Warner Bros, Formula 1
