Formula 1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali says the Hollywood production set in the world of F1 and starring Brad Pitt which has been put on its rails will offer the sport "another tool" to show that "F1 never stops".
The big budget movie has brought together for another epic 'Top Gun: Maverick' producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Joseph Kosinski and screen writer Ethan Kruger, with the trio visiting the US Grand Prix in Austin last year, while Lewis Hamilton has been assigned a co-production and advisory role with the project.
In a conference call with Formula 1 investors, Domenicali revealed how the film – which has entered production and which will soon start shooting at Silverstone – will add another powerful layer of penetration for Formula 1 after the success of the Netflix docu-series Drive to Survive.
Actor Brad Pitt and director Jo Kosinski behind the scenes at the 2022 US GP.
"It's another way to show what we want to do, something different," Domenicali said.
"When we started the collaboration with Netflix, the [F1] community said what's going on? This is not our place to be. And now we understand the power of it.
"And then we added the very strong presence with social media, making sure that all our drivers and teams are very active in promoting the sport.
"And that's another tool with the movie. Actually, we're going to start the shooting in Silverstone very soon, and you will see it will be the first movie when basically, they will be within the racing event.
"It will be quite invasive in terms of production, it's something that we need to control in a way, but it will be another way of showing that F1 never stops."
Sitting alongside Domenicali, Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei said that a Hollywood blockbuster film on F1 will pick up the baton from Drive to Survive as a new "promotional vehicle".
"The Simpsons has gone for 20 years, but there aren’t that many shows – the Fox guys are cognizant – that run that long," said Maffei.
"Drive to Survive is wonderful but we cannot rely on Drive to Survive to be our only promotion vehicle forever.
"You’ve got to keep it fresh, change the game, and that’s one of the things I’d like to think we’ve done as a team entering Formula 1."
F1 boss Stefano Domenicali and Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei.
Just as Drive to Survive conquered new territory and alerted F1 to a fresh demographic, Hollywood's upcoming F1 epic will also broaden the sport's horizon in the most spectacular way insisted Maffei
"This movie, kind of like Vegas is going to be a whole other level, as much as Drive to Survive is enormous to a lot of people in this room and a lot of people around the world," he added.
"I still go places and people say ‘huh?’. Its audience is not that big. It may be big among this group, but it’s not that big.
"A Brad Pitt move with Lewis Hamilton consulting and Bruckheimer and with the director from Top Gun Maverick… it’s going to be amazing."
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