The upcoming Formula 1 movie – simply titled ‘F1’ – aims to make the sport even bigger on a global scale, but particularly in the United States, according to producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
‘F1’ releases in many territories on Wednesday 25 June, but those in the United States will have to wait a further two days for the release on 27 June. Following the global premiere in New York City and the European premiere in London, reviews have been mixed, but Bruckheimer – who has produced films such as the Top Gun movies and Days of Thunder – says the aim is to convert more people into F1 fans.
“It’s just been a fun ride for us,” Bruckheimer said. “For me over the last four years, being a part of this world, it’s been fantastic. I wasn’t a big F1 fan when we started. I certainly am now.
“Just watching the [races] move every week or every two weeks is just amazing to me. I mean, the skill and the level of these drivers and phenomenal athletes. Just the teams, how they build these cars and take them apart and put them back together overnight, the amount of work that goes into it, and we tried to show that in the movie.
“We tried to give you an example of what this world is like and how difficult it is to get in these cars and to drive – Brad [Pitt] and Damson [Idris] trained for three months, starting with a road car and moving up to F4 – and the skill it takes to be a driver and to be part of these teams. We tried to convey that to a worldwide audience.
“The audience in America, out of 20 people [before a screening], one person raised their hand and said they’re aware of F1. At the end of the screening, everybody raised their hand [wanting to watch a race].
“And that’s what we want to bring. That’s what I hope you take away from this – we want to make this sport as big as it is around the world, even bigger. And especially in the States. That was our mantra. We want to entertain audiences and show you what a spectacular sport this is.”
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali says while that growth and exposure is an obvious aim for the sport itself to have, the filmmakers including Bruckheimer and director Joe Kosinski need praise for their authentic approach to the racing aspects.
“I take the point of thanking Jerry for the vision, but thanks too because what we want to do is to think big, and that [vision] will help us to think big,” Domenicali said. “And then, together, all of us, we needed to go into the sport, and explain what the sport is.
“And it was very important to build on these new relationships that started between us [F1 and the filmmakers] a couple of years ago, and improve the knowledge and be authentic as a movie.
“All what you [will see] is real. Because something that you [see] has happened. It’s not fake. It’s not coming from another dimension.
“So that means that one object that we had was really to feel the authenticity of what we are showing to the world starting from [this] week … But then to connect with and hope the new generation, the new people that will see Formula 1 for the first time, will stay with us for a long time.”
