Summary

• Lewis Hamilton believes Brad Pitt's Formula One movie will capture "real speed" with new technology.
• Traditional racing movies fake speed, but this film will provide a more authentic experience.
• Director Joseph Kosinski's work will impress viewers by showing real-life speed in the movie, says Hamilton.

Apple upwards of $300 million to produce.

Kosinski and Pitt’s Formula One movie may indeed look like a huge gamble, but it’s one that’s set to pay off according to producer and F1 champ Hamilton, who spoke recently about the difficulties of capturing the true speed of racing on film, and explained how new technology will help Kosinski and company revolutionize racing movies, promising an experience that will "blow people away." Check out his remarks below (via Hot Ones):

Racing movies, I feel like it's very hard to capture them. … You're following a truck that has a camera on the back, so it's hard to capture the speed. You can't have a truck filming us at 200 mph, so it's all kind of faked at a slower speed and they speed it up. But this is all real time, real speed. I think if you go back to Steve McQueen for example, back then they would have men laying on front of the car with the camera, or have a big camera on top of the helmet. Now we've got all this amazing new technology. So I feel like Joe [Kosinski’s] honestly, I think he's going to blow people away.

Capturing Real Formula One Racing Means Putting Brad Pitt Behind The Wheel

Cruise and his co-stars climbed into real fighter jets and experienced real skull-crushing G-forces for Kosinski’s Top Gun: Maverick. The director has put Pitt through similar paces for their Formula One movie, as the actor got behind the wheel of a modified F2 car and drove around the track during race weekend of the 2023 British Grand Prix. Pitt discussed the experience of real racing, and wanting to be respectful of Hamilton and other F1 drivers, during a July 2023 interview (via Sky Sports F1):

You've never seen speed, you've never seen the G-forces like this, the footage is really, really exciting. I wasn't nervous when I was out on the track today. The guys really prepared me well. There's a couple of corners where I can see the stands, but I was focused on the lines. I was able to appreciate the experience of driving when I was on the straights. This should be as authentic as we can get it. Lewis wants us to respect the sport, that we really show it for what it is. As a civilian, I had no idea what it takes to be a driver. The aggression and dexterity, I have so much respect for it.

Hamilton’s own remarks heap praise on the efforts of Kosinski as he tries to truly capture the speed of racing for the first time. It’s interesting too that Hamilton would name-drop Steve McQueen, who made his own attempt at a “real” racing movie with 1971’s Le Mans, a film that was considered a flop. McQueen did his own driving for Le Mans, and Pitt is duplicating the feat, but hopes for a better box office result.

Pitt's Untitled Formula One movie releases on IMAX on June 27, 2025

It's unlikely that Apple's $300-million Formula One movie will soar to the same grosses enjoyed by Top Gun: Maverick, even if the promise of experiencing real racing speed draws throngs of summer moviegoers to IMAX theaters. Being a producer on the film, Hamilton has an interest in hyping the efforts of Pitt and Kosinski, but nonetheless, it's encouraging that the film's realism is endorsed by someone who has climbed to the top of the racing world, and knows what it truly feels like to push the envelope on the track.

Source: Hot Ones