F1: The Movie sped into Times Square on Monday night, marking the world premiere of the Formula 1 racing drama starring Brad Pitt and Damson Idris.
The film, directed by Top Gun: Maverick filmmaker Joseph Kosinski, follows Sonny Hayes (Pitt), a retired F1 driver who comes out of retirement to mentor a hotshot rookie (Idris). In trying to make the movie as realistic as possible, the two stars did much of their own driving; Pitt told The Hollywood Reporter at the premiere that in getting behind the wheel for the first time, he was shocked “that these cars can stick in high-speed corners. It’s shocking how fast they can stop. I was just in awe.”
And being no stranger to on-camera stunts, Pitt pointed out that driving comes with “adrenaline but also a strange calm in the car, it’s amazing. You’ve got to be so present. When everything’s working, there’s an eerie calm to it. It’s lovely.”
Idris added that for his first time in the car, his mindset was “Don’t die. It was the most exhilarating feeling in the world and doing it alongside Brad was just a dream come true. We trained like four months out of the year to really hone our craft in these vehicles — and we also did it while having to act and try to look cute and say your lines.”
The actor also promised, “When you watch this movie, it’s the most authentic racing movie of all time; I can’t stress that enough. And that was the goal we set out for ourselves. So I’m so proud. I’m so happy that big movies are coming back.”
Kosinski admitted there was some behind-the-scenes work involved with getting the two stars behind the wheel — “A lot of conversations with the insurance companies, for sure” — but it was made easier by the fact that “Brad and Damson both proved themselves to be incredible drivers; very capable behind the wheel, they were signed off on by Lewis Hamilton himself. So as nerve-wrecking as it is to see them driving at this speed, I had faith in their ability and also the team we put around them.”
Hamilton, who has won seven world championships and is largely considered the face of F1, served as a producer on the project. And with parts of the movie filmed at real F1 races, Kosinski added, “I really have to thank Formula 1 for letting us into their world and giving us the access to pull this off.”
F1: The Movie hits theaters June 27.
Neha Joy contributed to this report.