Damson Idris recalled several particularly scary incidents behind the wheel while filming for the upcoming F1 movie.
Idris portrays up-and-coming Formula 1 driver Joshua Pearce in the Hollywood film, titled F1. It is set for release on 25 June 2025 worldwide and two days later in the United States.
Alongside Idris are numerous high-profile actors and actresses, most notably Brad Pitt, who plays aging driver Sonny Hayes as Pearce’s teammate and bitter rival at the Apex Grand Prix team (APXGP).
Javier Bardem, Tobias Menzies and Kerry Condon are some of the other actors featured in the film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Joseph Kosinski. Condon and Idris were present at a special preview and stunt at the 82nd Goodwood Members’ Meeting, which GRANDPRIX247 were invited to thanks to IWC Schaffhausen.
It was exhilarating
The majority of on-track footage used in the F1 movie was filmed during race weekends of the 2023 F1 World Championship. For this reason, the actors on the circuit had a limited amount of time to film various scenes and shots before the real drivers would need to start their next session.
Idris remembered a few embarrassing moments when behind the wheel of different high-performance cars, including the modified-F2 car used to represent APXGP’s F1 car in the movie.
He said: “We got to drive on all the racetracks. We got to train on so many of them too. My favourite is Austin, Texas. I had the craziest spin of my life there, but it was exhilarating.
“And as I came out, everyone was like, now you’re a race car driver,” Idris added.
The British actor also recalled another mishap, this time during the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix weekend. He continued: “We had these small pockets of time, maybe 10 minutes. Me and Brad could jump in the car and get all our bits around the track.
“It’s funny, in Budapest we had 10 minutes, and I actually had a spin at Turn 1. Then they had to wheel me back, and I was really holding my head down.”
With Lewis Hamilton credited in the film as one of its Executive Producers, a special focus has been placed on making F1 as realistic and authentic to real racing as possible.
The best experience ever
Idris has followed the sport for a long time, and the immersion of the filming experience amongst the real F1 drivers and teams added to the excitement for the British actor.
He stated: “My first F1 race was Budapest 2018, Lewis won. And then I just went from race to race after that. I was a huge fan, doing the grid walks. And I was always interested in the cars at the back too. I loved the whole experience of F1, but now I’m a huge fan.
“From binging Drive to Survive and getting to know so many of the drivers on a personal level. It’s definitely something I want to continue doing.
“F1 was so accommodating too, there’s just so many moments where everyone integrated together, even the crowd, to make this movie the best experience ever,” concluded Idris.
Are you excited for the upcoming F1 movie?
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