Abu Dhabi is where F1 will come to its “spectacular” conclusion, the film’s director Joseph Kosinski says.
“We end the film in Abu Dhabi, on this incredible track. That is just a spectacular way to end the film,” Kosinski says, speaking at an online launch event for the film’s trailer.
It isn’t surprising that the film will draw to a close at Yas Marina Circuit. The track hosts the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which has served as the final race of the F1 season annually, so it makes sense that the location is where the stakes in F1 are pushed to the metal.
The Apple Original Films' title tells the fictional story of Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), who was forced into retirement after a devastating crash. He is later convinced to return to the sport to mentor rookie Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris) for Apex Grand Prix. The fictional underdog team will seek to prove themselves against several of the motorsport’s leading packs, including Ferrari, culminating in a high-octane finale at Yas Marina Circuit.
We see a glimpse of the final race in the trailer, at just past the midway point, with cars flying past advertisements that read Etihad. The circuit’s teal-coloured shoulder lanes are also visible. The scene is potent with adrenalin, alternating between wider shots and gripping first-person perspectives. Even in the trailer, the scene is informed by a sense of realism that Kosinski says sets the film apart from other motorsports titles. The film aims to “capture the speed of the sport,” he says.
However, the authenticity that Kosinski sought, required both technological developments and input from those who intimately know the world of Formula One racing.
“The first thing I did was I reached out to Lewis Hamilton,” Kosinski says. “He lives that sport every day. He's one of the greatest of all time and I asked him to be my partner on making this film.”
The director also sought the input of Toto Wolff, the team principal and chief executive of Mercedes in Formula One, who suggested using real race cars for the film, instead of trying to make a “movie car fast enough”.
“We actually bought six F2 cars, and worked with Mercedes AMG, the Formula One team and their engineers to build real race cars that could carry our camera equipment recorders and transmitters for making this film,” Kosinski says. “So every time you see Brad or Damson driving in this movie, they're driving on their own in one of these real race cars on a real F1 track.”
The actors underwent months of training to prepare them for the driver’s seat. Yet, there was a lot of natural talent to work with, Kosinski says, particularly in Pitt’s case. "Brad had a lot of just natural ability right from the start,” he says. “He rides motorcycles, which I think has something to do with it, but he's just a very talented, naturally gifted driver.”
Hamilton, who is a producer on F1, also expressed fascination for Pitt’s driving talent. “Watching Brad drive around speeds over 180 miles an hour was really impressive to see because it's not something you can just learn overnight,” Hamilton said during a pre-recorded speech at the trailer launch event.
“The dedication and the focus that Brad put into this process has been amazing to witness.”
However, while it is one thing to build and drive a car to Formula One speeds, it is another thing entirely to be able capture it on camera. Luckily, Kosinski had some know-how in filming objects moving at high speeds, particularly with his work on Top Gun: Maverick.
However, fighter pilots may have been simpler to film than the drama and adrenalin in an F1 cockpit.
“The big challenge was just the camera system itself,” Kosinski says. “We had to develop a brand new camera system, taking everything we learned on Top Gun: Maverick and pushing it much further. You can't put 60 pounds of gear onto a race car and expect it's going to perform the same way. We took those Top Gun cameras and we worked closely with Sony, sizing them down to something about a quarter of the size. And then on top of that, something I really wanted to do on this film was actually be able to operate and move the cameras while we were shooting, so we have motorised mounts on the car as well. So much research and technology and development went into just being able to roll a frame of footage, in addition to the training for the actors and the logistics of shooting at a real race.”
That is right – the driving scenes in F1 were all filmed during real Formula One races – or at least in between them. It wasn’t enough to just film at the actual racing circuits, Kosinski says, but it was imperative to shoot during race weekends, where the setting “becomes this whole different world. Like a traveling circus”. The film was shot over three different periods, wrapping production in December at Yas Marina Circuit during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
“We couldn't just shoot at the track without the race going on. It would've been the wrong dynamic,” Kosinski says. “We were actually there on race weekend with hundreds of thousands of people watching us finding these time slots between practice and qualifying, which Formula One graciously afforded us.
"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,” Kosinski says. “We'd have 24 to 30 cameras ready, rolling, and I'd have to shoot these scenes in these very short, intense, high-speed windows.”
All these elements have been incorporated with the aim of pushing the envelope of motorsports films. To capture the grit and thrill of a Formula One race as authentically as possible, and to deliver a moving story that, Kosinski says, resonates on a universal level, with themes of "friendship, teamwork, sacrifice and redemption".
Or, as Hamilton put it: “Brad Pitt, speed, thrills, an epic underdog story, drama, humor and a little bit of romance. This film has got it all.”
F1 is set to be released in theatres across the world on June 25
