At Silverstone this race week, the black and gold APX GP car of Brad Pitt made its track premiere as filming for the rumored “Apex” F1 movie began. Filming began on Thursday with the car’s maiden on-track laps at the British Grand Prix, which is one of the movie’s shooting locations.
For the roles played by British actor Damson Idris and American actor Brad Pitt, named “Sonny Hayes” and “Joshua Pearce,” respectively, an entire garage had been set up in advance. The fictitious team has space against the pit wall as well.
The plot of the film focuses on Pitt’s character, a seasoned Formula 1 veteran, coming back to the racetrack for his last season while mentoring a young and ambitious rookie driver named Pearce. On Thursday, Formula 1 received its first look at the vehicle, but the driver’s identity is still a mystery.
The car in issue is a Formula 2 car that Mercedes cleverly converted to nearly resemble a contemporary F1 car while still having room for film cameras.
The APXGP car being used in the F1 film looks better than some of the actual cars on the grid 🥶
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) July 7, 2023
(via @lukesmithf1) pic.twitter.com/ztcHsFN3eG
Seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton, who also acts as a co-producer, and famous producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who is most known for his work on the Top Gun films, worked together to create the movie.
Zak Brown, the head of McLaren, reckons that this film is yet further proof of how popular Formula 1 has grown to be. He is convinced that the production’s huge scope and the names involved will deliver an unmatched racing movie experience for diehard F1 fans.
Fans react to the APX GP car
Fans’ reactions to the APXGP livery announcement were mixed, although many believed that the sophisticated black and gold design was striking and attractive.
Probably have a bigger budget than Haas
— StillJoeHess (@StillJoeHess) July 7, 2023
A few fans saw an opportunity to take a dig at Haas and the budget issues they have been facing over time, especially during this ongoing season.
Make this car as the official one and give it to all drivers, just letting the teams to modify the livery, like IndyCar, and you will make F1 the best show ever.
— Alejandro López (@AlexLopezF1) July 6, 2023
A Twitter user called @AlexLopezF1 mentioned how this car should be used by F1 Mercedes drivers. Lewis Hamilton and teammate George Russell have been constantly complaining and disappointed at the current mechanics and working of the car which has made their performance weaker and brought down the team from their dominant state.
Will it’s main rival be the Energizer bunny?
— davey sportsball (@davesportsball) July 6, 2023
While many actually acknowledged the design, a few fans noticed similarities between the color scheme of the car and the batteries of a certain company.
Imagine if the car they’ve just built for a movie ends up being faster than Red Bull if they pushed the car to the limits
— Charlie Joy (@C4N4RY_K1D) July 7, 2023
The speculation suggests that there is a possibility of the car appearing on the grid during the formation or installation laps of Sunday’s race. Nevertheless, this presents a distinctive and interesting idea, and fans are eagerly waiting for the movie’s release to witness the end product.