Kosinski, a protégé of David Fincher, had previously directed "Top Gun: Maverick," which featured actors in actual fighter jets instead of relying on CGI. He believed audiences appreciate when something is filmed for real, distinguishing it from scenes done on a soundstage. "F1" tells the story of Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), a driver who returns to Formula One to join a struggling team owned by an old racing friend (Javier Bardem). The character of Hayes is partially inspired by Martin Donnelly, whose career ended due to a crash in 1990. The film aimed for hyperrealism, featuring actual F1 teams and drivers, and filming a significant portion of the movie at the races themselves.
Lewis Hamilton, a prominent F1 driver, served as a producer, helping to facilitate cooperation with the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the governing body of F1. Despite Hamilton's involvement, Apple, which spent over $200 million on the movie, had to demonstrate to the FIA that they could film at events like the British Grand Prix at Silverstone without causing disruptions. Kosinski mentioned rehearsing blocking and staging for about two weeks with a stopwatch in front of the FIA to prove they could shoot a scene and clear the track before a race began. Unlike "Maverick," "F1" featured driving from Brad Pitt and co-star Damson Idris, partly because it was the only way to get the necessary shots. The actors had four cameras in front of them, performing lines while trying to avoid accidents in front of large crowds.
Every department, from actors to craft services, had to adapt to working at high speeds and with increased stakes. Ben Munro, a production designer, noted that his department typically had two weeks to build a set, but on "F1," they sometimes had only 12 hours overnight, such as for a scene filmed at McLaren headquarters. Claudio Miranda, the film's cinematographer and an Oscar winner for "Life of Pi," worked with Sony to develop small, agile "sensor-on-a-stick" cameras with Imax lenses for placement around the cars. Coverage was crucial, with 16 camera positions used to capture as much footage as possible. Miranda stated that they prioritized the realism of the movie over ideal shooting conditions, believing the authenticity was unbeatable. The production, which took almost two years to film, was largely accident-free, aside from a few spinouts and a fan interrupting a shot for a selfie. Kosinski observed a kinship between the film crew and an F1 team, noting that everyone had to be prepared for short nine-minute shoot windows, similar to a pit stop. Miranda recalled feeling emotional at the end of production in Abu Dhabi, when all the real F1 teams helped with a grand scene, indicating that the film crew, initially seen as annoying, had become "loved."
The "F1" movie, released in June 2025, received four Academy Award nominations: Best Picture, Best Visual Effects, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound. The film's use of real Formula 1 race footage within its fictional plot, featuring the APXGP team, was considered impressive and deserving of recognition. However, some critics argue that the nominations highlight the perceived meaninglessness of the Oscars, pointing to the 2013 Formula 1 film "Rush," which focused on the rivalry between Niki Lauda and James Hunt during the 1976 season, and received no Oscar nominations despite being praised for its accuracy by Lauda himself. "F1" had a significantly larger budget than "Rush," costing seven or eight times more. While "Rush" was lauded for portraying a true story without overdoing it, "F1" was designed to appeal to the same audience as the Netflix show "Drive to Survive," aiming to grow the sport's popularity.
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