“First thing is trusting these brakes”: Brad Pitt shares the most difficult thing while driving for F1 the Movie

Brad Pitt's F1: The Movie is currently running in theaters internationally and is set for a domestic release on June 27, 2025. It follows an American race car driver, Sonny Hayes (Pitt), who is recruited by a struggling Formula 1 team trying to stay on the grid.

Recently, Pitt appeared in an interview where he was asked about the hardest part of filming. He responded:

"From driving point of view, the hardest thing, the first thing is trusting these brakes. You know you're flat out down the straight. You're at 180 (Mph) and there's a brick wall in front of you, and really trusting these brakes. It's staggering what these brakes can do. And we're in, you know, in the Apex car. It's not near what a Formula 1 car is."

It was a thrill ride for the crew as well, as one of the film's stars, Simone Ashley, said in one interview where she was discussing the difficulties that appeared while doing one-take shots for F1 the Movie. While it sounds like a thrilling experience, the actors were accompanied by F1 experts like Lewis Hamilton for some professional counsel.

Lewis Hamilton also advised Brad Pitt to hit the brake as hard as he could while he was preparing to be the on-screen Formula 1 driver. The actor also explained that it wasn't some easy prep, as they had to learn to trust the car in the first month.

Brad Pitt drove an F2 car for F1 the Movie

The movie isn’t just about racing and speed—it’s a proper Formula 1 film that the creators aimed to make as realistic as possible. To prepare, Pitt trained in a modified Formula 2 car. He worked with stunt driver Luciano Bucheta, a former F2 champion, who would often warn him about speed limits—warnings Pitt jokingly ignored.

Interestingly, the cars seen in the movie as F1 vehicles are actually modified F2 cars designed to reduce risk while still looking authentic on screen. The result worked well—critics and fans alike are loving the film.

As of this writing, F1: The Movie holds an 84% Tomatometer score based on 193 reviews, and a 97% audience score (Popcorn Meter) based on over 1,000 ratings.

Tom Cruise, who has worked with Brad Pitt in the 1994 film Interview with the Vampire, was awestruck after watching F1 the Movie and praised his co-actor at one of its premieres. This is coming from the actor who himself is up for a thrilling ride, which adds another reason for the fans to see it.

Besides Pitt, Damson Idris plays another major driver on the team and also underwent similar training for the role. Javier Bardem portrays Ruben Cervantes, the team’s owner, and plays a major supporting character in a more managerial capacity.

F1 the Movie will be available on Apple TV at a later date.