Brad Pitt on Most Challenging Part of Filming F1: The Movie

The highly anticipated “F1” movie with leading star Brad Pitt is expected to be a box office hit, but it not without its challenges.

During the New York City premiere of the film in Times Square on June 16, Pitt delved deeper into the highs and lows behind the scenes during production.

“The teams and the drivers, everyone opened their doors for us and [they] are a big part of this movie,” Pitt said during an interview at the event.

“[They] let us in in a way that I would never have expected. [It was] just an experience I will never forget.”

“F1” follows the story of a Formula One driver, who faced a career ending accident, coming out of retirement to learn the road of redemption alongside a new racing rookie.

The film was shot during racing weekends around the globe in an effort to bring the fast-paced authentic experience to audiences on screen. However, Pitt admitted that finding a compelling storyline for a fictional production posed some difficulty.

“The hardest thing was to develop a story,” he said. “The sport is so revered and there’s so many people that are quite knowledgeable about it. And then, there’s so many people who haven’t seen it yet.”

With that, Pitt developed a new found understanding for race car drivers, reaffirming how important it was to keep the realism of the sport throughout the filming process.

“And to try to thread this needle where we’re not dumbing it down to those in the know,” he added.

“But it’s an invitation and explanation for those who have not been around this sport before; [that] was really the most difficult thing of it all, and I think we did a pretty damn good job.”

Specifically, Formula One is recognized as the highest class competition of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater vehicles since its launch in 1950.

Pitt was thankful to have one more secret weapon behind the scenes, with seven-time Formula One World Drivers champion, Lewis Hamilton, serving as co-producer for the film.

Hamilton, who has opened up in the past about his previous mental health struggles, was very hands-on during filming with his advice and attention-to-detail. This gave director Joseph Kosinski the confidence to place Pitt and co-star Damson Idris behind the wheel.

“The good thing for me is that Brad and Damson both proved themselves to be incredible drivers,” Kosinski told The Hollywood Reporter. “Very capable behind the wheel, they were signed off on by Lewis Hamilton himself.”

“F1” is set to hit theaters everywhere on June 27.