Written by Kianna Best on Jul 3, 2025. Posted in Interviews

Brad Pitt and Damson Idris starrer F1 roars to life with real tracks, real cars, and real stakes

Apple Studios’ F1 film, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Joseph Kosinski, is not faking a single turn. Featuring Brad Pitt and Damson Idris, the production went all-in, filming at real Grand Prix events, using custom-built cars, and integrating deeply with the sport’s ecosystem. Executive producer Daniel Lupi reveals how authenticity drove every decision in a high-octane blend of cinema and sport—delivering what may be on of the most immersive racing film ever made.

 

 

 “The audience does know, so if you’re going to fake it, you better fake it well—or just don’t fake it at all.”

- executive producer Daniel Lupi

 

Apple Studios' much-anticipated Formula One film, simply titled F1, may be one of the most ambitious crossovers of sport and cinema ever attempted. With Brad Pitt and Damson Idris behind the wheel—literally—the film takes viewers not just trackside, but inside the world of elite motorsport.

 

Directed by Top Gun: Maverick’s Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the project didn’t settle for set pieces or visual trickery. Instead, it filmed on location at real F1 events across the globe, embedded within the sport’s elite teams and culture.

 

“We had to make sure F1 was behind us—and they were,” Lupi explains. “And there was always the idea from Joe [Kozinski] that two leads had to drive.”

 

 

An Unprecedented Collaboration

According to Lupi, the film’s authenticity hinged on close collaboration with Formula One Management, individual teams, and real-world engineers. The process began with Pitt and Kosinski meeting team principals at the Austin Grand Prix in 2022.

 

What helped sell the idea? A visual effects test that digitally overlaid Pitt’s car onto real Grand Prix footage, demonstrating how the actors could convincingly race alongside the pros.

 

And they didn’t just pretend. F1 built six modified F2 chassis, engineered by Mercedes, to mimic F1 cars aerodynamically while accommodating high-speed cameras.

 

“We had to build a car that could do 180 miles per hour and still carry camera rigs,” says Lupi. “The actors did serious training. We weren’t shaking a fake cockpit on a green screen.”

 

"Our garage looked better than Mercedes or Ferrari’s. That’s how real it was." 

 

 

Filming on the Fast Lane

Filming took place at over a dozen Grand Prix locations, including Silverstone, Monza, Spa, Abu Dhabi, and Las Vegas. The production had its own pit garage—slotted right between Mercedes and Ferrari at the British Grand Prix.

 

“You’d walk down the lane and see Brad and Damson with our two cars. It was all real. They let us shoot in the actual environment,” says Lupi. “Imagine filming a football movie in Wembley during the FA Cup Final—that’s what we did.”

 

Even the crash sequences were grounded in real-world logistics. A spectacular fiery crash scene, shown in trailers, was staged between Monza and Brands Hatch, with special effects launching a car into the air without a driver. Another crash, set in Vegas, incorporated real telemetry data from a minor accident that occurred during filming in Abu Dhabi.

 

 

"We became a baby race team. Six cars, 200 crew, flying around the world." 

 

 

Behind the Helmet

While the film focuses on a veteran driver (Pitt) mentoring a rising star (Idris), it also introduces new perspectives in F1. Actress Kerry Condon plays a race engineer, echoing the real-life presence of women rising in the sport’s technical ranks.

 

“There actually is a female race engineer on one of the teams now,” Lupi notes. “We wanted to reflect that. The authenticity wasn't just visual, it was cultural.”

 

This commitment extended to technical minutiae: how seatbelts are strapped, the accuracy of garage telemetry displays, and even wardrobe. F1’s entire crew wore black team-branded apparel at races to blend in, passersby often mistook them for an actual team.

 

 

Redefining Immersion

Lupi sees F1 as part of a growing trend of cinema that refuses to rely solely on CGI.

 

“You think audiences won’t know if something’s fake, but they do. That’s why movies like Top Gun and Mission: Impossible resonate, because they’re real,” he says. “If you’re making a sports movie, embed in the sport.”

 

This philosophy extended to F1’s stunning opening sequence at Daytona, where Porsche supplied cars wrapped in the film’s fictional livery to compete in a real 24-hour race. Footage from that event forms the opening minutes of the film.

 

“That was one of those unforgettable moments,” Lupi reflects. “You’re shooting a film scene while an actual endurance race is happening around you.”

 

"The production value of going to a real F1 race—you couldn’t make that. It’s priceless."

 

Final Lap

With its global shoot, custom-built cars, real-time integration with Grand Prix schedules, and deep partnership with F1, the film has redefined what’s possible when sports and cinema collide.

 

“I’ve never done a film so immersed in the world it’s portraying,” Lupi says. “And I don’t think anyone else has either.”

 

 

Images courtesy of Apple TV+ Press