Ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone, filming for Apple Studios’ anticipated F1-inspired movie has commenced, and they have the car to go with it. The film, titled “Apex”, stars Brad Pitt as fictional racer Sonny Hayes, a retiree F1 driver making his return to the grid with a backmarker team called Apex GP (stylized as APXGP).
The film is being directed by Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the same team behind Top Gun: Maverick, and it features Lewis Hamilton as a consultant to make sure the production is as realistic as it can be. “We want everyone to love it and to really feel that we encapsulate what the essence of this sport is all about,” the Mercedes driver said during a press conference this Thursday. “I’ve seen all the footage of camera positions [we will use]. I’ve spent time with Joe trying to make sure we’ve got the best positions.”
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On the topic of realism, the movie has even gone so far as to set up an 11th garage in the pit lane for the fictional Apex GP team between Mercedes and Ferrari. Photos of the garage show it filled up with toolboxes, front wings, and tires amongst other things, and it actually has real driver banners above the bays with each character’s name and photo. It doesn’t stop there, though, as the black and gold APXGP car will also be filmed on track during the Silverstone race weekend.
That being said, it’s not expected to actually share the track with the other 20 cars. It’s been rumored that the car could potentially be on the grid for the formation/installation laps of Sunday’s race, but most, if not all shots of it alongside actual F1 cars will be added in post-production with CGI. Aside from the risks of having non-F1 drivers driving on track during the race, the movie car is actually a modified F2 car with F1-esque bodywork, so there’s also the issue of the massive pace differential. Nevertheless, it’s still a very unique proposition, and we’ll be keeping our eyes on the movie when it eventually releases.