The real racing accidents that inspired F1 The Movie’s most jaw-dropping scenes

F1 The Movie revolves around an ex-Formula One racer who was successful in his heyday. However, his career was cut short after an accident. Years later, he is brought back to mentor a young driver. This Joseph Kosinski-directed film was released by Warner Bros. Pictures on June 27, 2025, after a premiere at the Radio City Music Hall. Here is the official synopsis as per Letterboxd:

"Racing legend Sonny Hayes is coaxed out of retirement to lead a struggling Formula 1 team—and mentor a young hotshot driver—while chasing one more chance at glory."

Some of the sequences of the film are inspired by real life accidents.

These real-life incidents inspired some of the most intense scenes in F1 The Movie

F1 The Movie is in the same line of films as Rush and Senna, which explore the dangers of Formula One racing. While the Brad Pitt starrer is largely fictional, there are bits that are directly taken from real life.

Sonny Hayes (Pitt) was about to become successful, but his career was halted after his accident at the 1993 Spanish Grand Prix. This crash has parallels with ex-Formula One driver Martin Donnelly. He had crashed at the 1990 Prix at a speed of 160 miles per hour. Luckily, he survived the accident but sustained several injuries like including broken bones. Donnelly even had to undergo kidney dialysis and had to be placed on a respirator.

Joshua Pearce (played by Damson Idris) is another character in F1 The Movie who experiences a crash. At the Italian Grand Prix, Joshua tries to overtake another fellow racer, Max Verstappen, but crashes and the vehicle burns. This crash echoes two real-life incidents, including the 2019 one of Alex Peroni, which took place at Monza's Italian Grand Prix. Peroni managed to walk away from the crash before he was assisted. Another parallel is the 2020 crash of Romain Grosjean at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

All these incidents showcase how dangerous and fragile the Formula One sport is. It depicts that these drivers are putting their lives on the line and are aware of the risks.

F1 The Movie is helmed by Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski, who has also written its story with Ehren Kruger. Kosinski has also produced it with Lewis Hamilton, Brad Pitt, Chad Oman, Jerry Bruckheimer, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner. Its cast members include:

Brad Pitt as Sonny Hayes
Damson Idris as Joshua Pearce
Kerry Condon as Kate McKenna
Javier Bardem as Ruben Cervantes
Tobias Menzies as Peter Banning
Kim Bodnia as Kaspar Smolinski
Sarah Niles as Bernadette Pearce
Will Merrick as Hugh Nickleby
Joseph Balderrama as Rico Fazio
Abdul Salis as Dodge Dowda
Callie Cooke as Jodie
Samson Kayo as Cashman
Simon Kunz as Don Cavendish
Shea Whigham as Chip Hart
Layne Harper as Press
Luciano Bacheta as Luca Cortez

Speaking to Formula 1, Kosinski revealed that they customized actual Formula 2 vehicles for the shoot. He said:

"We designed the car so that it had built-in camera mounts at 16 different positions for our camera system. We found spaces under the radiator to hold our battery packs, our receivers, our transmitters, our recorders. It was a machine built for shooting a Formula 1 movie – completely custom, but a real race car at the heart of it."

F1 The Movie was released on June 27, 2025.