Will F1 movie be the most realistic racing film ever? In a way, it’s irrelevant

This month’s cover story is not your usual Motor Sport fare. It is true that we have covered films and documentaries about motor racing in the past but we have tended to focus on those that deal with the retelling of historical events.

As a sporting title we are on solid ground when we can refer back to what actually happened (not least via our digital archive of contemporaneous reporting) and have our say on new insights – or exaggerations – that a film may contain. Our cover story in 2019 of the Hollywood movie Ford v Ferrari (or Le Mans ’66 as it was also known) was a good example of this.

But the upcoming F1 film starring Brad Pitt is a different beast: it is an entirely fictional tale albeit one that, as Chris Medland reports on page 50, takes inspiration from some real-life events. What makes it worthy of inclusion in Motor Sport is the fact that the producers gained unprecedented access to the actual world of F1 and went to such lengths to create what they claim is the most realistic racing film ever. Have they succeeded? We will have to wait until we have seen the film next month.

But the details of how the film crew infiltrated the tightly controlled world of F1 is a story in itself. The access they achieved also reflects the increasing symbiosis of F1 the sport and F1 as an entertainment business. When cinemas are showing a summer blockbuster F1 movie, Netflix is busy filming the latest instalment of Drive to Survive and celebrities are wearing F1 team-branded kit you know the sport is not exactly ‘staying in its lane’.

Purists may raise an eyebrow but the increasing popularity and visibility of F1 should be welcomed as it continues to bring new blood into the sport – hopefully at all levels. Whether this film is a hit or a miss may ultimately be irrelevant: the fact that it was made at all tells you all you need to know about F1 in the modern age.

Readers will remember our much-missed colleague and long-serving editor at large Gordon Cruickshank, who died shortly before Christmas last year. Friends of Gordon’s are in the process arranging a memorial to celebrate his remarkable life which will take place at the end of July at Brooklands. A fitting location if ever there was one. Readers who would like to know more should email ([email protected]) using ‘Gordon’ in the subject line. We will pass your details and interest on.