“I’ll never forget having…”: Lewis Hamilton’s real-life experience shaped Brad Pitt’s role in F1 movie, says director Joseph Kosinski

F1 director Joseph Kosinski has said world champion Lewis Hamilton was instrumental in offering "insight into what it is that drives" people like Sonny Hayes, the character played by Brad Pitt in the upcoming film titled F1. He has, however, also revealed that Lewis was particularly interested in seeing if Brad actually knew how to drive in real life. After seeing the just-released F1 trailer, the world is convinced Brad is actually a wonderful driver, even if he’s driving an F1 car.
Kosinski’s F1 is another feather in his cap after his 2022 blockbuster, the Tom Cruise-starrer Top Gun: Maverick. Just like Tom, Brad Pitt too has performed his own stunts, say driving, in this film. F1 stars Pitt as Sonny Hayes, a retired racer who gets a chance to return to the track by mentoring a rookie, played by Damson Idris.
Kosinski shared in a media interaction that it took months of training to get the two actors ready to drive real F1 cars. Sharing a backstory, Kosinski said, as per Screenrant, “The first day was really fun. It was me, Brad, and Lewis Hamilton at the track together, all of us jumping in cars and driving each other around in sports cars, which was one of those things I’ll never forget—having Lewis Hamilton as your driving instructor. But what we learned, and what Lewis was really interested in, was seeing if Brad actually knew how to drive. Because if Brad couldn't drive, this whole film wasn't going to work.”
“And what Lewis was very happy to discover was that Brad had a lot of just natural ability right from the start, and I don't know where he got that or if he was born with it, and he rides motorcycles, which I think has something to do with it, but he's just a very talented, naturally gifted driver, which for Lewis after that first meeting gave him a lot of confidence that we might have a shot at pulling this of,” Kosinski added.
The F1 director also pointed out how Lewis played a role in shaping the film’s storyline, as he has experienced being both a rookie and a world champion in his long F1 career. “He’s kind of seen it all. So his perspective on shaping the narrative of these two characters and giving me real insight into what it is that drives him was invaluable,” Kosinski said, confirming that they couldn’t have made this film without him.
Also Read: Lewis Hamilton is all praise for Brad Pitt following F1 movie trailer release: “It’s not something you can just learn overnight”
F1 is scheduled to release on the silver screen on June 25. It also stars Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, Kim Bodnia and Javier Bardem.