How the F1 Movie Filmed During Real Grand Prix Weekends
Brad Pitt’s comeback doesn’t just look real. It is real. Apple’s F1 Movie drops you into the cockpit with the chaos of real Formula 1 races happening all around. No fake crowds. No green screen grandstands. Just raw rubber, roaring engines, and the wild idea to shoot during actual Grand Prix weekends while the world’s best drivers were still racing.
Here’s how director Joseph Kosinski and company pulled it off, and why it might be the boldest behind-the-scenes flex of the year.
They Filmed During Real Races. Yes, Really.
From Silverstone to Spa, Vegas to Yas Marina, the F1 crew didn’t build fake tracks, they invaded real ones. The production rolled into Grand Prix weekends like they were the 11th team on the grid. And somehow, Formula 1 let them.
They weren’t hiding out in the paddock either. At Silverstone, Brad Pitt’s fictional team, APXGP, slotted their car right behind Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton during a live formation lap. Talk about blending in with the elites.
Director Joseph Kosinski wanted real stakes, real sweat, real speed. “You can’t fake the energy of race day,” he said. And he’s right. You can’t buy that crowd buzz or those tire vibrations.
They Had 15 Minutes to Get It Right
Here’s the wild part, F1 had to shoot scenes between real-world sessions. Practice ends? The film crew rushes in. Drivers return for qualifying? Kosinski’s team clears the track. Sometimes they had 15 minutes. Other times? Closer to five. This was the opposite of cushy movie set hours. It was organized chaos, timed to the second, and shot like a military op.
One red flag or weather hiccup, and they had to rewrite the whole day. That pressure? You can feel it on screen.
Brad Pitt and Damson Idris Actually Drove Those Cars
Forget stunt doubles. Pitt and Damson Idris put in the work. We’re talking race simulators, months of coaching, and eventually climbing into real modified Formula 2 cars, pushing close to 200 mph.
Idris summed it up best:
“I had to drive, brake, hit my marks, say lines, act… all at 180 miles per hour.”
That’s not just acting. That’s performance art with a death wish.
They trained with Hamilton’s team and even had cars designed by Mercedes engineers. The result? Twelve custom APXGP cars that could hang with the pros and didn’t explode on camera. Big win.
How They Shot It Without Wrecking the Race
Kosinski didn’t just want realism, he wanted beauty. Cinematographer Claudio Miranda, who already took us into the danger zone in Top Gun: Maverick, returned with next-level gear. They built new ultra-light cameras to mount on the cars without slowing them down.
Even Apple engineers got involved, customizing iPhone camera tech to fit FIA safety standards. Basically, the cars had GoPros on steroids, powered by iOS and prepped to survive the G-forces of a turn at Spa.
Imagine: a race car doing 180 while Brad Pitt acts, Damson yells, and a camera rig smaller than a lunchbox captures every shake. That’s what F1 delivers.
This Was a Full-On Race Team Disguised as a Film Crew
Make no mistake. APXGP was more than a movie prop. They had their own crew, pit wall, garage setup, the whole Formula 1 lifestyle minus the points.
The F1 team traveled the full circuit calendar, blending in with Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes. At one point, actual race announcers started giving APXGP airtime on live feeds. Fans online legit thought they were a real team. That’s how deep the illusion went.
Even F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali co-signed the whole thing, saying the film “captures the emotion and thrill of Formula 1 with Hollywood firepower.” Translation: they nailed it.
Final Lap: This Ain’t Your Daddy’s Racing Movie
This isn’t Driven with Stallone. This is Top Gun on tires, with Kosinski’s high-stakes energy, Lewis Hamilton’s insider access, and Pitt risking his good hairline for authenticity.
If you’re wondering what happens when you shoot a blockbuster in the middle of a real Grand Prix weekend… this is it.
It’s loud. It’s fast. And it doesn’t let you breathe.
Just like F1 should be.
