Ahead of the launch of the trailer of potential summer blockbuster F1, which promises to offer audiences a visceral, in-depth look into the pulsating world of Formula One racing, director Joseph Kosinski interacted virtually with select global media, answering questions about the film that stars a strong ensemble cast, led by Brad Pitt. Pitt stars as Sonny Hayes, a former champion who returns to the circuit for redemption. F1, that counts Lewis Hamilton, one of the shining beacons of the sport, as a producer, is releasing in a few international markets on June 25 and in the US and India on June 27.
The interaction, that commenced at 3am India time, kicked off with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, sending in a video message. Hamilton introduced himself as a “Formula One driver and one of the producers of what will be the most authentic racing films you will ever experience in a cinema... F1”. The champion, who has dominated the sport for decades, spoke about the effort that has gone in to deliver a
genuine Formula One racing experience with F1. “The film was shot during the F1 races over the course of a season, and with Joe (director Joseph Kosinski) at the helm, audiences around the globe are going to feel like they are on the track and in the driver’s seat,” said Hamilton.
“This film has got it all — Brad Pitt, speed, thrills, an epic underdog story, drama, humour and a little bit of romance,” he added, saying that some familiar faces from the world of Formula One also feature in the film.
That gave way to Joseph Kosinski stepping in to talk about his big summer release. Kosinski, who gave us a visceral viewing experience with the 2022 Tom Cruise blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick returns for yet another adrenaline-pumping experience with F1, being aptly introduced as a maker who has the ability to immerse his audiences in a world “where speed and accuracy are matched with emotion and great narrative.”
IN THE COCKPIT
Kosinski hit the ground running, talking about his film as well as taking questions from media from all over the world. The first one was the inevitable but imperative question: What made Kosinski want to make a film about Formula One racing? “Like a lot of people during Covid, I found myself starting to watch the races and found this great television show called Drive to Survive. I found that it is an incredibly unique sport, in that your teammate is also, in many ways, your greatest competition. For me, that makes for a great drama. I also loved how the first season of that show focused on the last-place teams, the underdogs... rather than the Ferrari, the Mercedes, the Red Bull, the teams that you see at the front of the pack. And I thought that there was an interesting story to be told about an underdog team in trying to not win the championship, but just trying to win one race against these titans of the sport. That is where it started,” said Kosinski.
Kosinski is known for his almost superhuman ability to dive right into the middle of the action. The trailer of F1 is ample proof of that, promising a wholesome experience in cinemas. “I reached out to Lewis Hamilton and asked him to be my partner on making this film. Having Lewis gave me this incredible in (road) into this world. One of the people he introduced me to was Toto Wolff, the team principal of Mercedes. I started talking with them about wanting to capture the speed of this sport, and It was Toto who came up with: ‘Why don’t you take a real race car and then work the cameras that you need into that?”
He added: “We bought six F2 cars, real F2 race 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. So every time you see Brad (Pitt) or Damson (Idris) driving in this movie, they are driving on their own in one of these real race cars on a real F1 track.”
A NATURAL FIT
Brad Pitt, a keen Formula One fan himself, looks perfect for the part. When asked what went into making Pitt slip into the skin of Sonny Hayes in the film, Kosinski shared: “Brad and Damson are both driving in this film and in order to get them into these race cars, it required months of training. But the first day was really fun. It was me, Brad and Lewis Hamilton at the track together, all of us driving each other around in sports cars. I will never forget (the feeling of) having Lewis Hamilton as a driving instructor! What Lewis was interested in was seeing whether Brad knew how to drive right. Because if Brad can’t drive, this whole film wasn’t going to work. What Lewis was very happy to discover was that Brad had a lot of natural ability right from the start... I don’t know where he got that or if he was born with it — he rides motorcycles, which I think has something to do with it — but he is just 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.”
Kosinski pointed out that F1 mandated a certain fearlessness, which Pitt brought to the table, er, race track. “What we are doing in this film is dangerous. So yes, you have to be fearless, and when you see Brad driving, that is not acting. He is really concentrating on keeping that car on the track and out of the wall during all those scenes. That is something that you just can’t fake. I hope the audience feels that when they watch the movie.”
When asked whether one needed to be a fan of motorsport to enjoy F1 and the world that Koskinski and his cast and crew have built in the film, the director was quick to respond with: “Not at all. This is a movie about friendship, teamwork, sacrifice, redemption. The story is universal. It just happens to be set in this incredibly exciting world of Formula One... even if if you don’t know anything about Formula One, I think you are going to like this movie and you might come out wanting to watch some races, or maybe even go to a race. You don’t need to know anything going in. We will teach you everything you need to enjoy this story.”
ACTION MEETS EMOTION
Kosinki’s films winningly blend scale and substance, with the high-powered action scenes balanced by deeply emotional moments and relatable characters. When asked how important it was for him to bring together the action and visual element with a compelling set of characters that felt authentic to the world of motor-racing, the man, who has films like Tron: Legacy and Oblivion in his filmography, said: “I knew that no matter how accurate or exciting the racing is, it doesn’t mean anything if you are not telling a story supported with great characters. It all starts with the script, and I worked on it with Ehren Kruger, who also worked on Top Gun: Maverick. He wrote an incredible script. The most important thing a director does, beyond developing the script, is casting. The group of actors we pulled together for this film is pretty incredible. Javier Bardem and Brad together — their friendship is three decades old — is the core of this story and of this film and just seeing them together on screen is really special. Kerry Condon is incredible. She plays the team’s technical director. There is some healthy tension in every team, and it makes for a great relationship between the two of them. And Damson Idris... I am excited for people to see him going toe to toe with Brad. We have an incredible cast of supporting actors as well.”
He also said that what works for this story is that it packs in everything. “It has the tension you would expect in a movie like this with all the action, but at the same time, there is real heart here, especially in the story of Sonny Hayes and the redemption journey he is on. There is humour in there, there is some romance, there is a little bit of everything you need to tell a fully fleshed-out, rich story like this.”
COLLABORATING WITH THE BEST
One of the ‘perks’ of making a film like this was getting to spend a fair amount of time at races. Kosinski concurs. “I got to see amazing tracks all over the world. One thing I love about Formula One is that every race has its own character and every weekend, it is very different. Silverstone (in the UK) is the home of Formula One, where it all started, versus Spa (Circuit de Spa), which is this amazing track that works its way through the forest to Las Vegas, which is totally different. We end the film in Abu Dhabi, which is an incredible track. Every track has its own personality, its own character, and because we went to all these places for real, you will feel like you have gone around the world when you watch the movie.”
Kosinski’s biggest takeaway from bringing F1 to the world has been the collaborative relationship he has had with Hamilton, and with the other drivers and Fomula One experts attached to the film. “When you say you are making a movie about that world, there is bound to be some reticence. 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. There is no way this film would exist without that.”
