Race and classic pictures

Movie night in Monaco: F1 stars get first look at ‘F1 The Movie’

Formula 1 drivers and team bosses were treated on Wednesday to a special evening at the movies ahead of this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, with the small community enjoying their very own private screening of the upcoming, eagerly anticipated Hollywood blockbuster ‘F1’.

Set for release internationally on June 25, the highly anticipated epic, now marketed as F1 The Move, is directed by Top Gun: Maverick’s Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Brad Pitt and seven-time F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton, among others.

Pitt stars as former F1 driver Sonny Hayes, who returns to partner rookie team mate Joshua Pearce, played by Damson Idris, at the fictional APXGP team.

The third and final trailer recently dropped, hinting at drama, danger, and probably some very expensive carbon fiber getting crunched.

Before the lights went donw, Formula 1’s class of 2025 came together for a group shot in which Lewis Hamilton looks very much like the headmaster ready to hand out detention slips.

It wasn’t a full grid unfortunately, with Max Verstappen – perhaps hard at work racing in the virtual world in his Monaco flat – conspicuously missing from the line-up, and also it seems Lance Stroll.

Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.