MOVIE NEWS – With excitement building ahead of the high-octane release of F1 next June, director Joseph Kosinski opens up about how this adrenaline-pumping film stands apart from his earlier blockbuster, Top Gun: Maverick.

Anticipation is mounting among sports drama lovers as F1, one of 2025’s biggest cinematic events, prepares to hit theaters. Director Joseph Kosinski recently spoke with Entertainment Weekly to share fresh insights about the film, including how it compares—and crucially, how it differs—from his 2022 hit Top Gun: Maverick. For this project, Kosinski reunited with several key players from Top Gun, including producer Jerry Bruckheimer and writer Ehren Kruger.

“They’re both speed-driven worlds with larger-than-life personalities,” Kosinski explained. “Jet pilots and F1 drivers are the rock stars of their respective arenas. And yes, both crave speed.” Still, the director was quick to draw a line between the two productions:

“We shot Top Gun on an aircraft carrier 100 miles out at sea. But for F1, we filmed in front of 400,000 live spectators.”

“We only had minutes to get some of these scenes done—because they happened during actual events. It felt like stage performance. Precision planning was critical, but we had to execute in real time, often with just two or three takes.”

No Green Screen Here—This Is Pure Racing

To keep the action raw and real, Kosinski avoided CGI-heavy sequences. Real Formula 1 drivers were brought in as consultants, and some even appear in the film. With Lewis Hamilton serving as a producer, the film aims to deliver unmatched authenticity. The cinematographers had to reengineer their equipment to capture high-speed, track-level action in real-time environments.

“There were times we had just five or ten minutes to capture a scene. You’re used to dozens of takes—but not here. You felt the pressure, the immediacy. And remarkably, people delivered. It’s like your brain flips a switch and says, ‘Now or never.’”

“That’s the energy I wanted to capture. That nervous, electric charge in the air. And it’s there—in every frame, I hope.”

“You Start to Dream the Corners”

Brad Pitt leads a cast including Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, Shea Whigham, and Javier Bardem, alongside Damson Idris, who plays Noah Pearce, the young F1 prodigy mentored by Pitt’s character, Sonny Hayes. Idris revealed how immersive the experience became for him:

“At first, I was terrified. But by the end, driving 180 miles per hour across global circuits was the ride of a lifetime.”

“You start dreaming about the corners. You build confidence through repetition—lap after lap. I got seriously good at high-speed racing and precision turns. The hardest part? Starting the damn car. The clutch is hand-operated!”

Source : Entertainment Weekly