The new trailer for blockbuster Formula One movie F1 starring Brad Pitt has dropped – and it looks like his role of veteran driver Sonny Hayes fits the star like a glove.
In a pulse-pounding look at the glossy and action-packed film, which has reportedly cost over $300million (£231.2m), we see everything – fireworks, dramatic races and unparalleled views of the real Formula One tracks where it was shot.
But F1 is not just about racing cars, as impressive as they look and sound here, it’s about the relationship between ‘has-been’ Hayes, living in a van and given an open seat in Formula One, and the upstart rookie he’s to mentor, Joshua ‘Noah’ Pearce (Damson Idris).
Javier Bardem’s Ruben, Hayes’ friend and Apex Grand Prix team owner, puts the two together, who are seen butting heads instantly.
‘If you’ve any constructive criticism for one another, what would it be?’ asks Kerry Condon’s Kate, the team technical director, at a tense dinner, only for the two drivers to interrupt each other immediately with choice insults.
‘That was constructive,’ insists Hayes of his ‘Don’t be such a d**khead’ after a beat.
‘They’re saying Sonny Hayes isn’t a has-been, he’s a never-was,’ Kate is then later heard telling him to push the racer into fully committing to clinching his first-ever Formula One victory.
A look at the high-octane thrills of F1, which build over the trailer, could of course not have been soundtracked by anything other than Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain.
There’s plenty of hype building around F1, not least because the cast – which also includes Tobias Menzies and Shea Whigham – also numbers several real Formula One drivers playing themselves, thanks to producer Sir Lewis Hamilton, including Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris.
Director Joseph Kosinski revealed that it was none other than 40-year-old Sir Lewis who gave Pitt, 61, his first driving lesson because, as he put it, ‘if Brad can’t drive, this whole film wasn’t going to work’.
However, Kosinski told press including Metro during a special Q&A for the trailer launch: ‘He’s a very talented, naturally gifted driver, which for Lewis, after that first meeting, gave him a lot of confidence that we might have a shot at pulling this off.’
He added: ‘You have to be fearless, and when you see Brad driving, that’s not acting. He’s really concentrating on keeping that car on the track and out of the wall during all those scenes – so that’s something that you just can’t fake.’
The filmmaker also singled out rising British star Idris, 33, for praise as he tackles his first major film role opposite Pitt.
‘People might know him from his television career, but maybe not from the movies. I’m really excited for people to see him here going toe to toe with Brad on a big screen and a big story.’
Kosinski also gave insight into how F1 managed to pull off its shoot, which saw the movie filmed during race weekends, mid-season, on Formula One tracks across the globe and in front of hundreds of thousands of fans.
‘We’d get these 10- or 15-minute slots where we’d have to have Brad and Damson ready in the cars, warmed up with hot tires, ready to go, and as soon as practice ended, they would pull out onto the track. We’d have 24, 30 cameras ready, rolling, and I’d have to shoot these scenes in these very short, intense, high-speed windows.’
‘But the crowd you’re seeing was really there in the stands. I don’t think the crowd realised that Brad Pitt was in the car that was in front of them,’ he laughed.
The director, who also helmed Top Gun: Maverick with Tom Cruise, also spoke about the honour of having Formula One’s blessing and help.
‘Certainly asking to be part of that family and that world and to say you’re making a movie, there’s going to be some reticence there. But when they saw how determined we were to make it authentic and represent their sport in the absolute best way we could, to have them embrace us and to be able to have them play themselves in the film, to be able to shoot on the track alongside them, showed a level of trust that was really remarkable,’ he commented.
And for those film fans who might not be so invested in the world of Formula One? Kosinski insists that’s it a ‘universal’ story as a movie ‘about friendship, teamwork, sacrifice, redemption’.
‘It just happens to be set in this incredibly exciting world of Formula One.’
And in terms of any recommended homework?
‘You don’t need to know anything going in. We’ll teach you everything you need to enjoy this story.’
F1 releases in cinemas on June 25.
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