Williams faced FIA scrutiny over wind-tunnel access by F1 movie

Williams team principal James Vowles has revealed that the British team came under scrutiny from the FIA after allowing its wind tunnel to be used during the filming of the upcoming Hollywood blockbuster F1 The Movie, starring Brad Pitt.

Speaking ahead of the movie’s highly anticipated global release next week, Vowles confirmed that Williams was compensated for permitting the film crew to use the Grove-based outfit’s aerodynamic facility.

However, he emphasized that the team had to reassure the sport’s governing body that no performance advantage was gained by the Grove-based outfit from the arrangement.

"They approached us, because they could have done a [film] set from what I understood, but actually wanted to replicate or be in exactly the environment," Vowles told the Times.

The fictional car featured in the film – a modified Formula 2 car branded under the fictional "APXGP" team – is indeed seen undergoing wind tunnel testing in the movie.

Given the strict regulations on wind tunnel usage in Formula 1, the FIA investigated whether Williams’ participation in the production could have inadvertently aided its on-track performance.

To address those concerns, the team demonstrated that the APXGP scale model used during filming was “significantly different” from the actual Williams FW46 chassis competing in the 2024 season.

Balancing Opportunity and Disruption

Vowles acknowledged that hosting a film production in one of the most regulated and technically sensitive areas of F1 operations came at a cost – not just in oversight, but also in terms of time and workflow disruption.

“It’s quite difficult for us nowadays to effectively extract everything that we need to [for Williams’ work in the wind tunnel], stop our programs and bring them in,” he admitted.

“There’s a limited number of [wind tunnel] ‘fan on’ time, so you can work around that. It is disruptive, but it was for a really important project.”

Although Vowles confirmed that “there was a payment,” he made clear that Williams did not view the collaboration as a commercial opportunity.

“We didn’t make any money out of it. That’s not the purpose behind it, and nor would it be,” he said.

“Taking our own program out of the tunnel for four days is not the best thing that you can be doing in a competitive year.”

• Read also: Brad Pitt gets real-life F1 test at COTA with McLaren

Despite the drawbacks, Vowles sees the film as a milestone moment for the sport and one he wanted his team to support.

“I really do think this is an incredibly important milestone in our history and going forward, so I wanted to be a part of it in some form or another.”

The Brad Pitt-led movie, in which he plays fictional racing veteran Sonny Hayes, was filmed mainly on location at real F1 events including Silverstone, Las Vegas, and Abu Dhabi.

With the backing of Apple Studios and F1 itself, the project aims to bring Formula 1 to a broader global audience in the same vein as Netflix’s Drive to Survive.

For Williams, it was a unique chance to support that effort – albeit under the watchful eye of the FIA.

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