This has certainly been a season to remember for a majority of Formula 1 fans despite the lack of intensity in the championship fight. The British Grand Prix provided a sneak peek of what’s to come with the massively hyped F1 movie starring legendary Hollywood star Brad Pitt under the direction of global hit ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ fame, Joseph Kosinski. And of course, not to forget, the serious involvement of seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton.
The Mercedes F1 driver has been a part of the filming crew, acting as a consultant. But, interestingly though, it wasn’t just the driver, but also the entire Mercedes squad. While Hamilton played the role of a consultant, the rest of the team helped create the ‘APX GP’ cars. Furthermore, the logo of Mercedes’ performance brand, AMG, will also feature on both cars.
Brad Pitt and Damson Idris were at the British Grand Prix today filming for a new F1 movie 🔥 pic.twitter.com/4oCARpNTRN
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 9, 2023
Hence, amidst the massive association with the eight-time world champions, Christian Horner, took a hilarious jab while predicting the movie’s outcome. The Briton has been one of the biggest rivals of Hamilton and Co. amidst the painful 2021 saga.
Therefore, the Red Bull F1 boss reckoned that if there’s an antagonist in the new F1 movie, it’s him.
Christian Horner takes a jab at Lewis Hamilton and rival F1 boss Toto Wolff
Apart from joking about the potential villain role, Horner sounded rather excited about watching an F1 movie on the big screen. The 49-year-old acknowledged the Brad Pitt-led movie could only expand the global fandom of Formula 1.
“It’s great that, again, it’s taking Formula 1 onto the big screens,” he reportedly told ESPN. “With Toto and Lewis as executive producers, I’m sure we’re going to be portrayed as the bad guys and the villains! But it is great for the sport, it’s great for Formula 1, and the interest in sport is just amazing.”
I spy with my little eye… the modified F2 car being driven by Brad Pitt at Silverstone 👀
📸 ig/f1_gresty pic.twitter.com/wZGy5GIcm6
— Vincenzo Landino (@vincenzolandino) July 6, 2023
F1 did embrace a major fan boost in 2019 when Netflix unveiled the first season of Formula 1: Drive to Survive. Since then, the sport has attracted millions of fans from the United States and has managed to fortify its place in the massive country by inaugurating Grand Prix events in Miami and in the next few months, Las Vegas.
Whilst the trigger to this global expansion was a mere documentary series, one can only imagine the effect a movie on the big screen could have, especially with the star-studded cast. Therefore, with the entire world waiting for the arrival of ‘Apex’, can Hamilton, Pitt, and the entire production team deliver a potentially award-winning feature film?