F1 Movie Insider Defends Brad Pitt Fainting Scene Filmed During Las Vegas Grand Prix

Saajan Jogia | Dec 10, 2024

F1 Movie Brad Pitt Teaser Poster / F1 Press Image

F1, directed by Joseph Kosinski and Jerry Bruckheimer in collaboration with Apple Original Films and Warner Bros. Pictures, is set to be a standout in the world of sports dramas. Despite several scenes being filmed by fans at Grand Prix locations, Eddy Cue, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Services, confirmed his confidence that the story remains protected, but more importantly, has defended a scene where Brad Pitt's character faints, shot during the weekend of the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Scheduled for its international release on June 25, 2025, with its North American debut just two days later on June 27, F1 follows a story centered on Brad Pitt’s character, a seasoned Formula 1 driver making a determined return to the sport to mentor a rising young talent, portrayed by Damson Idris. The two compete together for the fictional APXGP team.

The movie has been in production for the past two Formula One seasons, with the crew attending numerous Grand Prix weekends to ensure the scenes capture an authentic atmosphere. The fictional team features a fully equipped garage setup at race events, with Mercedes-designed cars adding to its cinematic realism, a detail overseen by co-producer Lewis Hamilton, who worked to maintain the film's adherence to the true essence of Formula 1. While filming officially wrapped following last weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and with many scenes already shared publicly, Cue shared his thoughts on the matter. He told The Athletic:

“If you’re on the set of a movie, and you get a clip of it, you would have no idea what the hell is going on.

“It’s not like it’s shot in sequence, right? These little things… I saw this thing on YouTube of Brad fainting in Vegas or whatever, but you have no idea what the context of that is or before. I actually think all of it helps.”

The scene in question, featuring Pitt collapsing onto a crash mat on the main straight in Las Vegas last month, was not overdramatic for Cue, who then cited the example of former Haas driver Romain Grosjean’s infamous crash from 2020 in Bahrain, where his car smashed into the barrier and turned into a fireball, but Grosjean walked out safe moments later. He added:

“I saw a guy walk out of a fire in real Formula One.

“I think passing out is pretty real.”

He added:

“A lot of the incidents in the movie are taken from real events.

“Everything that Brad does on the track, the little tricks that he does, drivers have done through the decades in various races. Because he doesn’t have the fastest car and he’s not the fastest driver. He has to use clever tactics to stay up with these other drivers.”