Formula 1 News: Drivers warn hardcore fans about ‘F1’ movie

(GMM) Formula 1 drivers have warned insiders and hard-core fans of the sport that they might not enjoy the new ‘F1’ film starring Brad Pitt.

Only Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll were missing on Wednesday when the field of active race drivers gathered in a Monaco cinema for a private screening.

“I notified FOM about that,” Verstappen insisted. “I think it’s coming out on June 27? I’ll download it on Apple.”

Stroll commented: “I just had things to do.”

Verstappen insists attending the screening wasn’t “mandatory,” but most of the rest of the drivers dutifully turned up in team rather than casual clothing.

When asked what he thought of the movie, Nico Hulkenberg said: “It’s a Hollywood film, so it’s not about getting every detail right.

“You have to sit back a bit, see the whole picture, and not take everything so seriously,” he added. “It’s simply about showing a broad audience what’s going on here.”

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc agreed that the movie doesn’t show “exactly the way we live things”.

Rookie Isack Hadjar commented: “As drivers, it’s hard to give feedback, because we’re really critical. But I think if you’re a kid or someone who doesn’t know about the sport, I think it’s the best way to get started.”

Alex Albon’s advice to the hyper-critical insiders is to “just relax and watch it as a movie”.

Gabriel Bortoleto agreed: “It’s going to be very good for those who still don’t know the sport so much.”

Up and down the pitlane, the drivers generally had the same view about the movie – that it will be good for the sport, but that insiders may need to cringe.

“There were some things that didn’t make much sense to us drivers,” Esteban Ocon said, “but I saw where Lewis (Hamilton) had contributed to try to make it as realistic as possible.”

When asked what the producers got wrong, however, the Haas driver added: “The crashes.

“In some scenes, it feels very Hollywood. The film has to appeal to a wider audience, but I would like to see less crashes and more racing.”

Carlos Sainz points out that the drivers’ critical feedback echoes how they feel about the popular Netflix series, Drive To Survive. “It’s going to be really good for people who don’t know anything about Formula 1,” Sainz said.

“For the hardcore fans, journalists, us, we’re going to see things that might seem too American or too Hollywood,” added the Spaniard.

“They also warned us. They said ‘Guys, we love your sport. We’re in love with your sport. But this is Hollywood’.”