What F1 drivers think of Brad Pitt’s movie: ‘Icks’ and ‘the best racing movie of all-time’

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MONACO — Through the past two years, Formula One’s paddock has doubled as a real-life movie set thanks to the immersive filming approach taken for Apple’s upcoming film, “F1: The Movie.”

Drivers have helped stage scenes during pre-race grid ceremonies, welcomed Brad Pitt into their briefings with the FIA, and even shared a podium with one of Hollywood’s biggest stars in Abu Dhabi last year.

But on Wednesday evening in Monaco, the 2025 F1 grid saw the finished movie a month early at a private screening ahead of this weekend’s grand prix. “F1: The Movie” will get its international release on June 25 before hitting screens in North America on June 27.

Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion, has been the most involved driver, working as a producer and helping to ensure the movie’s accuracy. These efforts extend to details such as correct engine note sounds, as well as acting as a valuable sounding board for producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Joe Kosinski. For Hamilton, seeing the logo of Dawn Apollo, his film company, appear on screen and spotting his name as a producer in the credits gave him a special feeling of joy, even though he had already watched it about 20 times.

But this screening was different.

“All of a sudden, I’ve got all the drivers there and I was sat in the middle, (and) I was nervous,” Hamilton told reporters on Thursday. “I was like ‘Oh God, everyone is seeing it for the first time.’”

Such a select audience would provide the first opportunity to gauge just how successful the film has been at becoming the most immersive and accurate racing film of all time, as the producers intended. The drivers who live such scenes are arguably its toughest audience.

After the screening, Hamilton messaged all his peers to ask for their honest feedback. “For sure, there’s parts you’d be like, ‘Hey, the timing may be off on a strategy stop,’ or whatever it might be,” he said.

“But I think the great thing is, the sound is great. The image is incredible. It’s something that has never been done before. So, it’s something I’m really proud of.”

How realistic is the F1 movie?

“I thought some of you were there!”

Laughter echoed in Haas’ hospitality unit during Esteban Ocon’s media session in Monaco on Thursday.

The initial questions had focused on the screening, and Ocon, unaware that the present journalists had not seen the movie yet, shared a few spoilers (which won’t be repeated here). Although none with significant, ground-breaking detail.

The general feel from across the Monaco paddock is that the movie is broadly accurate. But a Hollywood-type flair, to be expected, was noted. Williams driver Carlos Sainz shared Thursday, “There were a couple of icks, but honestly, not as many as I thought. They warned us and they said, ‘Guys, we are in love with your sport, but this is Hollywood.’”

One of the biggest questions “F1: The Movie” faces is how accurately it portrays everyday life for those working in the paddock. Netflix docuseries “Drive to Survive” uses footage filmed at race weekends and from direct driver interviews, but series producer Box to Box and the streaming platform have historically faced criticism for taking creative license with the storylines in what is supposed to be a fly-on-the-wall production.

Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson described the film as “very immersive” and said “it captures the feeling of being in Formula One.” The movie includes racing battles and crashes with real-life competitors, but utilizes CGI rather than sending Pitt and co-star Damson Idris out on track in Formula Two cars against the F1 drivers. But if the drivers can tell there is an element of Hollywood touch at work, will viewers need an open mind?

“You can always find holes and poke holes in things,” Lawson said. “But I think it’s a movie, at the end of the day. It’s the same if you’re watching ‘Top Gun.’ I’m sure if you’re a fighter pilot and you’re watching a movie like that, you’re going to pick things in there that you might see differently. But I think the movie is incredible. That’s what most people are going to see when they see this.”

Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll were the only F1 drivers not to attend the private screening ahead of the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix (Bryn Lennon / Formula 1 / Getty Images)

Ocon detected Hamilton’s involvement as a producer. “Some of the parts you can really feel that Lewis has pushed it to keep it super realistic,” he said. While Ocon would’ve liked more racing and fewer crash sequences, he said, “It’s still by far the best racing movie of all time.”

“I think proper racing fans will enjoy it,” Ocon said. “They are going to comment about some of the things that maybe don’t make 100 percent sense. But honestly, for such a big movie with such an audience, it’s the closest to reality racing movie that I’ve ever seen, in comparison to all the other ones.”

Can the movie capture a new audience?

Two members of the 2025 grid have yet to watch the film, including the reigning world champion Max Verstappen. He notified F1 in advance that he would not attend the screening to spend more time at home. His partner, Kelly Piquet, gave birth to a girl, Lily, at the end of April.

“I wanted to spend more private time — because the evening is also private time, at the end of the day,” Verstappen said. He was streaming on iRacing on Wednesday evening, but claimed he’d download the film in a few weeks and watch it when it is released. “I heard good stuff from the movie,” Verstappen said. “So, I’m sure it’s going to be exciting.”

The other absentee was Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll, who only arrived in Monaco on Thursday. Asked why he didn’t make the screening, he said it was “just stuff,” but he does plan to watch the film.

While the drivers may be best-placed to judge the accuracy and merits of the film, they know they are not the direct target audience. The film’s goal, and F1’s goal, is to reach far wider, so that the “icks” that Sainz mentioned are only picked up by a small percentage of viewers — the most hardcore F1 fans.

“Nearly all of the movie, in terms of track action and things like that, it was very original and very representative,” said Fernando Alonso. “So that was a very good thing.”

Lawson felt those who hadn’t watched F1 before seeing the film would be the most impressed by the footage, which he and other drivers agree is accurate. Both Pitt and Idris trained to drive the custom-built APXGP car in real life.

Lewis Hamilton produced and consulted on the film (Bryn Lennon – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)

“I can imagine somebody who’s watching the sport for the first time, watching that movie, they’re going to think it’s amazing,” Lawson said.

Current championship leader Oscar Piastri was impressed by the degree of realism. He cited a moment when the editors added the two APXGP cars to existing racing footage from real races. “The CGI in a lot of areas was very convincing,” Piastri said. “I can’t give too much away, but there are some things that if you don’t follow F1 fully, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference if it was real or not.

“I think for all the people involved in F1, they’ll be at least somewhat satisfied with the accuracy of all the little details.”

Piastri’s McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, didn’t want to comment when pressed on some of the scenes involved, respecting the need not to give away spoilers. But he acknowledged it was “a much bigger stage” for F1. “It’s a movie, it’s got movie stars in it, and I think that’s something a lot more historical than just a Netflix documentary,” Norris said. “It’s something that in 20 years your kids can still watch and it’ll still be kind of cool.”

The success of “Drive to Survive” in bringing F1 to a new, broader fanbase has transformed the sport. To have F1 portrayed on the biggest screens, with some of Hollywood’s biggest-name actors, directors and producers involved, has the potential to boost F1’s popularity — especially if it can capture that intended new audience.

“Apparently they did a survey with a lot of people that hadn’t ever watched a Formula One race, and after watching the film, they would ask, ‘would you watch a Formula One race now?’ And 100% of people said yes,” said Sainz. “So, that just tells you how good I think it is going to be for the sport.

“Maybe I’m completely wrong. But I think it’s going to do a lot of good.”

(Top image: Bryn Lennon / Formula 1 / Getty Images)

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