Why the “F1” movie was forced to partner with a team at Daytona

The F1 movie opened with the sounds of the legendary Daytona International Speedway as we’re introduced to Brad Pitt’s Sonny Hayes. While I won’t dive into spoilers here, I will say this: we’re treated to a tantalising display of driving as Pitt’s nomadic character navigates through a sea of cars in the Rolex 24 Hours from behind the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Similarly to the Formula 1 action we see later in the film, this scene was also filmed on a real race weekend during the Roar Before the Rolex 24. And Frank Kelleher, president of the Daytona International Speedway, was more than willing.

Initially, the director Joseph Kosinski and his film crew wanted to field a car in the race purely for filming. It would go out onto the track wielding a vast array of camera gear, get what they needed, and come back into the pits without getting too much in the way. This idea was rejected, although the production team was offered to field multiple cars, but they would have to compete. 

Instead, a happy medium was agreed. The production would partner with an existing team to fulfil their shot list. This was confirmed to be Wright Motorsports and their Porsche driving in IMSA’s GTD class. It wasn’t as easy as sticking some cameras to the car, though. The car was decked with the livery we saw in the film, and the team’s crew was given Chip Hart Racing – the team Hayes was driving for – uniforms to wear.

The track also extended a practice session by 30-minutes to facilitate the filming of a pit stop. 

“That sequence is actually in the movie,” IMSA’s senior vice president David Pettit said via The Athletic. “We gave them a dedicated pit box next to the real team, so all the equipment was there and everything, so they could then stage it and then do a pit stop with Brad Pitt. And when you see that car coming out, it’s actually Brad Pitt driving the car. He did a pretty impressive part of making that happen.”

F1 Movie scene

Photo by: Apple

Things went swimmingly for the shoot until they asked to film on Victory Lane to celebrate Hayes’ eventual win while the race was still running on Sunday. This request resulted in a swift no, but not one that couldn’t be remedied.

“I said, ‘You must have said the word authenticity 10 times,’” Kelleher said, using the timing of when the GTD class is celebrated – after the three other classes – as an excuse.

“Victory lane is already covered in champagne and confetti. When you look out at the photographers and the people working cameras, they are sweaty. It is humid. They’re covered in confetti and champagne.

“So, about the time your car rolls in victory lane, victory lane is alive and breathing. You do not want to be the first car rolling into victory lane and doing a victory lane shot.

“Because if you want to be authentic, the motorsports fan is going to watch that scene and go, ‘Wait a minute. There’s no way that car would roll in and victory lane would be that clean and pristine.’”

Instead, they simply rolled the car in after the real GTD winner had celebrated. The Porsche they were using finished 26th in the real race.