‘Everyone opened doors for us’ – Brad Pitt hails drivers and teams as ‘big part’ of ‘F1 The Movie’

Brad Pitt has praised the Formula 1 drivers and teams for being a “big part” of creating F1 The Movie, with the actor hailing those involved for making the process an “experience I will never forget”.

Ahead of its release internationally on June 25 and a North America launch on June 27, the film held its official premiere in New York on Monday where Pitt joined his co-stars – along with drivers and a host of celebrities – on the red carpet.

Directed by Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Pitt and seven-time F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton, the movie sees Pitt play Sonny Hayes, a former F1 driver who makes his comeback at the fictional APXGP team to partner rookie team mate Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris).

With the action being filmed during real-life Grand Prix weekends, Pitt hailed the participation of those in the paddock as he reflected on the experience of filming the motion picture during Monday’s premiere.

“The teams and the drivers, everyone opened their doors for us and [they] are a big part of this movie,” Pitt explained on the red carpet. “[They] let us in in a way that I would never have expected. [It was] just an experience I will never forget.”

Pitt also reflected on the challenge of creating the film’s plotline in order to strike a balance for both new and existing fans of the sport.

“The hardest thing was to develop a story,” the actor said. “The sport is so revered and there’s so many people that are quite knowledgeable about it, and then there’s so many people who haven’t seen it yet.

“And to try to thread this needle where we’re not dumbing it down to those in the know, but it’s an invitation and explanation for those who have not been around this sport before, was really the most difficult thing of it all, and I think we did a pretty damn good job.”

The film previously earned praise from the drivers and team bosses for how the sport was portrayed when they attended a private screening of F1 The Movie in Monaco last month.

Haas’ Esteban Ocon felt that it was “the best movie of racing that I’ve seen”, while Alpine’s Pierre Gasly said that “it’s a real dive into our world of Formula 1 for us as drivers but also all the people evolving around Formula 1”.