F1 The Movie stars Damson Idris and Kerry Condon have shared insight into how they prepared for their “radical” roles in the upcoming film, with the blockbuster released internationally on June 25.
Directed by Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer (Top Gun: Maverick), F1 features Oscar-winning actor Brad Pitt in the role of former F1 driver Sonny Hayes, who returns to the sport to partner rookie team mate Joshua Pearce, played by Idris, at the fictional APXGP team.
Filming of F1 took place at real Grand Prix events, with Pitt and Idris even getting behind the wheel of the modified F2 cars that feature as the APXGP machines in the motion picture.
As a result Idris underwent extensive training for his role as Pearce, going as far as to take Silverstone’s Copse Corner “flat out” in front of the seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton, who serves as a producer on the movie.
The young British actor also went on to explain more to the F1 Nation podcast about the preparation that went into his role, including the similarities he saw between the character and one of the world’s most promising football talents – Spain’s Lamine Yamal.
“Every single rookie goes through the same feeling and not even just in Formula 1,” Idris said. “They’re always trying to prove themselves, even a young actor. I really related to that.
“Funnily enough, Lamine Yamal, who plays football [for Barcelona and Spain], was kind of a big deal. Looking at him, I saw similarities between him and Joshua Pearce. They’re both kind of cocky, but they’ve got the talent to match.”
The Snowfall actor also went on to praise his “insane” experience on track whilst filming F1, after being given the chance to drive on during F1 weekends, with much of the film shot during actual Grands Prix.
“Before I even had the part, I drove up somewhere in California and I jumped right in a sim and I was like, okay, let me see what this is,” he added. “Did that. I downloaded the F1 video game, created a fake Joshua Pearce, and won a championship.
“When I finally came to England, I went to Bedford, Palmer Sports. They shoved me in the F3000, and I drove around there – in the wet, by the way. That was the test to get the part.
“It was insane for me because I got to drive on the track. We’d have these 10-minute slots to get these scenes during actual Grands Prix, to have the ability to watch the drivers up close and see how they interact and live in that world. When you watch the movie, you could see that all that authenticity was put on the screen.”
Additionally, Idris also confirmed that he took Copse corner flat-out during one of his preparation sessions for the role, showing his skills around Silverstone in front of Ferrari’s Hamilton whilst driving the specially-modified F2 car featured in the movie.
“I can confirm I was flat through Copse and I did it in front of Lewis Hamilton, too!” the British actor explained. “That was a big one for me. I just really wanted to push myself.
“And I remember when I did it, I mean, I was screaming! The reason why I had the confidence to do it was, you know, we would do F4 and F3, and I was flat in those.
“So it was actually a lack of experience that made me go flat in the F2 [car]. I didn’t know that there was any other way you were supposed to go through Copse.
“So, as I’m heading down the street, I’m just not lifting. I’m just like, yeah, this is where I turn. And then when they showed me all the data, they were like, ‘bloody hell, you were flat through Copse?!’. And I was like, am I? It was actually really cool.”
For Kerry Condon, however, her preparation for the role of Kate – APXGP’s race director – took place off the track rather than on it.
Whether it was chatting with Aston Martin technical guru Adrian Newey, or watching a race from the pit wall, Condon had a lot to learn as someone who was completely new to the sport.
The BAFTA-winner explained to F1 Nation that her experience was “radical” on set, as the team enjoyed an “immersive” experience within the F1 paddock on race weekends.
“They were so open-armed to us from the minute we arrived,” Condon said. “The first race I went to was in Barcelona, just to meet people and observe everybody. Everyone was so nice and generous, particularly [former Aston Martin strategist] Bernie Collins.
“I learned a lot from Bernie because of her Irish background. I thought that was going to be perfect. I thought, ‘yes, bingo, I’m going to base it kind of on Bernie’s backstory’.
“[F1 TV’s] Ruth Buscombe as well was very helpful. I just kind of found out a little bit about where they went to college and what they studied and the route that they took to get there.
“I read the Adrian Newey book ‘How to Build a Car’, which actually was quite easy to understand. I thought it was going to be a nightmare, but it was actually easy to understand.
“And then little things like the notepad that I have when I walk to the pit wall, I asked Bernie what she would have written on the front page of her notepad. Just in case the camera caught a glimpse of my notepad or something.
“It was kind of radical because we shot a lot of the movie live with the real Grands Prix, so a lot of the cars flying by in the background were the real cars happening in real time. That’s never been done before.”
