The world of Formula One racing requires some intense training to get into, as revealed by F1 The Movie stars Damson Idris, Kerry Condon and Javier Bardem. Idris, who previously broke out with the acclaimed FX crime drama Snowfall, stars in the sports drama as Joshua Pearce, a H๏τheaded young racer on the APX Grand Prix team who serves as a rival to Brad Pitt’s Sonny Hayes. Condon, the Oscar-nominated star of The Banshees of Inisherin, plays APXGP’s technical director, Kate McKenna, who also tries to keep the peace between Pearce and Hayes, while Bardem stars as Ruben Cervantes, the APXGP’s owner and Sonny’s longtime friend and former teammate.

Helmed by Top Gun: Maverick‘s Joseph Kosinski, F1 The Movie took a similar approach to practically depicting its тιтular sport, with Pitt and Idris undergoing extensive driving training while the production followed the Formula One season throughout the world in both 2023 and 2024. This approach also extended to the production working closely with F1 and many of the organization’s racers, namely that of Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time World Drivers’ Champion driver who is credited as both a technical advisor and producer on the film.

In honor of the movie’s release, ScreenRant interviewed Damson Idris, Kerry Condon and Javier Bardem to discuss F1 The Movie. The stars reflected on the surprises learned from working with the тιтular racing organization, particularly the secrets to successfully driving a Formula One car, while also sharing their own unique supersтιтions and Idris’ intensive physical preparation for filming the race scenes practically.

The Secret To Racing In Formula One Is The Physical Preparation Required

“We Did A Lot Of Neck Exercises…”

With the movie taking a practical approach to its filming, both Pitt and Idris underwent some intense training to portray their characters, with the latter recalling they “did a lot of neck exercises, so we could handle the G’s while we were driving“. As the group laughed about the question of which of the two had the stronger neck, all three stars agreed that Pitt had the strongest of the duo, while Condon laughed as she expressed not wanting to have one.

Turning to sincerity, Idris recalled that one of the biggest surprises to come from the training for the film was “just how compact” the cars were that he and Pitt had to drive for F1, recalling how it was “almost like you’re lying down as you sat in the cars“. Pointing out that it came with the uncertainty of “am I going to be able to fit inside this car“, Idris went on to explain that they “could barely move our heads“, especially as they wear a form of “neck brace“.

Combined with a halo on the top of their cars that “has saved so many lives“, Idris feels that “the physicality of it while driving” is the real secret to becoming a Formula One racer, and was thus “very surprising” in how intense it was. “The sport continues to grow in an innovative fashion with the design of the car, and we show all of that in a movie,” Idris explained.

The Cast Were Surprised By How “Grueling” Being On A Formula One Team Is

“You’d Have To Love It To Do It.”

As the production followed the Formula One season across multiple countries, the F1 cast found themselves getting a first-hand look at just how intricate the sport is both on and off the track. One of the biggest surprises Idris found with the sport was “the amount of media scrutiny” that drivers endure during any given race, feeling it to be “so overbearing“. He even went on to recall Pitt’s honest opinion of this, feeling that drivers “get it even harder than us as actors“, particularly since they “have to get in a car and sometimes drive 75 laps with that level of pressure and still perform.”

For both Condon and Bardem, they found similar sentiments in what they took away from watching the Formula One teams in action, with the former feeling that “the traveling” seems like one of the biggest challenges of the sport, while the latter was taken aback by “the amount of people behind the drivers and the teamwork” required to try and win races, as well as “the faith and the money they all put into that“.

“We traveled to a lot of different countries following the F1 circuit, but we didn’t do it all, and it was [still] exhausting,” Condon expressed. “So just thinking that how much they travel for 9–10 months of the year and that they’re working, packing up everything, it would just seem very grueling. You’d have to love it to do it.“

The Cast’s Main Supersтιтions Stem From The Same Thing

Supersтιтions Are A Theme Of F1 The Movie

One of the film’s interesting elements is the idea of the supersтιтions that Formula One drivers have going into a race, with Pitt’s Sonny having more than one, including mismatched socks and stuffing a playing card into his suit. When asked about what their own supersтιтions are, be it in life or going into a production, Idris, Condon and Bardem laughed as they realized their biggest supersтιтions were all flight-related.

For Condon, she points out that her upbringing in Catholic school has stuck with her throughout the years, as she “knows prayers” and will “say the ‘Our Father’” prayer before stepping onto a plane, while also touching the outside of it beforehand. For Bardem, he has a more humorous approach to preparing to fly, laughing as he shares he makes an effort to “talk to the pilot and ask him how he’s doing to see if he smells like alcohol” before going on the plane. “Sometimes he goes, ‘I’m fine!’, and I go, ‘Oh s–t, I’m shaking in this plane’,” Bardem said with a chuckle.

Idris’ plane-based supersтιтion is a mix of heartwarming and humorous, revealing that he and his family have “a rule” that whenever they get on a flight, having to send a text in a large group chat. “I’m the youngest of six, and of 17 nieces and nephews, so it’s just a bunch of human beings messaging, ‘You have a safe flight, uncle!’,” Idris warmly shared. “It’s just everyone, and that’s the way we fly.“

Check out our other F1 The Movie interview with director Joseph Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer!

Source: ScreenRant Plus