F1 Film Producer Reveals Red Bull's Concerns - 'Took Us Three Years To Convince Them'

Saajan Jogia | Nov 15, 2024

May 3, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen (1) races into turn three during F1 practice at Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-Imagn Images / John David Mercer-Imagn Images

Co-producer Jerry Bruckheimer of the F1 movie revealed that Red Bull initially feared being cast as the villain in the film, particularly due to the Mercedes and AMG branding on the fictional car featured. The 81-year-old producer shared that it took three years to convince Red Bull that they would not be portrayed as the bad guys.

The cars featured in the movie are originally from the Formula 2 series but have been modified with the bodywork of a Formula 1 car, courtesy of Mercedes. This adaptation allowed the Brackley-based team to display its logo on the fictional vehicles, which led some teams, including Red Bull, to believe that the film was centered around Mercedes.

Lewis Hamilton, a co-producer of the film, played a crucial role in ensuring that the scenes accurately reflect real-world Formula 1 scenarios. As a result, filming took place during actual Grand Prix weekends, including the most recent Mexico City Grand Prix.

Starring Hollywood icon Brad Pitt, the film is scheduled to release on 25 June 2025. Talking about the perception F1 teams had after the crew teamed up with Mercedes, Bruckheimer told Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei at the 2024 Investor Day event in New York:

“The interesting part is that, since we teamed up with Mercedes, the other teams said ‘wait a second, this movie is going to be about Mercedes and we’re going to look bad’.

“Red Bull said ‘we’re going to be the villains’. It took us three years to convince them that they weren’t going to be the villains and we finally got to a place where all the teams are really leaning into us to really help us.”

Regarding plans to show the film to F1 drivers during the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix weekend, Bruckheimer said:

“I think we’re going to show it to the drivers and to the F1 teams in Monaco and then we’ll have premieres in New York, London and a bunch of other cities.

“Brad is really invested in this movie. He doesn’t like to do press but I think we’ll take him on a world tour where he’ll be glad to show his efforts in driving and acting in this movie.”

The plot of F1 centers on an intense and compelling story, where Brad Pitt portrays a veteran Formula 1 driver making a determined return to the track. His character mentors a promising young talent, played by Damson Idris, as they team up to race for the fictional APXGP F1 team.