The New F1 Movie Used Real Race Cars — And That’s Just The Beginning Of Its Insane Realism

It feels like we’ve seen a heap of trailers for the new F1 movie — starring Brad Pitt, Damson Idris and Simone Ashley — or we could just be confusing it for the actual Grand Prix happening in Melbourne. Either way, we’re here to tell you that the OFFICIAL trailer is finally here! Take a look:
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From the Brad Pitt and Damson Idris team up, to the epic racing scenes, it looks like fans will need to buckle up for an adrenaline rush.

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Ahead of the trailer drop worldwide, BuzzFeed Australia got the inside scoop at an exclusive event with director Joseph Kosinski. He spilled behind-the-scenes secrets — from the tech used in the film to how Brad Pitt’s natural driving skills surprised everyone.

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Kosinski is no stranger to creating high-speed, heart-pounding cinematic experiences. From the futuristic light cycles of Tron: Legacy to the thunderous jets of Top Gun: Maverick, Kosinski has proven time and again that he has a “need for speed”.
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When asked about how he recreated the high speed and intense nature of the sport, the F1 director mentioned reaching out to Lewis Hamilton, who connected him with Toto Wolff — the team principal of Mercedes.
“I started talking with them about wanting to capture the speed of this sport, and it was actually Toto who came up with the idea of, rather than making a movie car fast enough to achieve these speeds, he said, ‘Why don’t you start with a race car and take a real race car and then work the cameras that you need into that.”
So that’s what Kosinki did. The F1 production team purchased six real 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” to create ✨authenticity✨.
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But it wasn’t just the cars, the actors immersed themselves in the reality of the sport too. “Every time you see Brad or Damson driving in this movie, they’re driving on their own in one of these real race cars on a real F1 track. That’s how we approached the making of this film.”
The reactions to the trailer are already rolling in, and despite the failed search for glimpses of Lando Norris and Simone Ashley, one thing’s for absolute certain — F1 is going to get our hearts racing.
F1 trailer is absolutely fantastic. I’m a big fan of the way Kosinski has shot the racing scenes, Brad Pitt looks amazing, and I’m excited to see the dynamic Damson Idris. pic.twitter.com/XhCazvnxKx
— Sumeet (@sumeet_ssb123) March 13, 2025