A full pit-and-paddock presence for a fictional 11th Formula 1 team has been set up at the British Grand Prix for the filming of Apple’s new movie starring Brad Pitt.
The Silverstone weekend features the ‘public’ debut for the APXGP team and its car, which will be key parts of a film in which Pitt plays an older F1 driver who emerges from retirement to compete alongside a rookie.
Few details of the plot are known but Pitt’s character is called Sonny Hayes and his team-mate Joshua Pearce will be played by Damson Idris, with both fictional drivers featured on the garages at Silverstone.
The team’s black-and-gold liveried car, a modified Formula 2 car with F1 stylings created with assistance from Mercedes’ technology division and Carlin, and driven by the actors, was revealed properly by F1 and Apple Studios on Thursday.
In addition to the garage that will be used this weekend, APXGP also has its own pitwall presence and a paddock facility.
It is part of the bid by Joseph Kosinski, director of Top Gun: Maverick, to make this Apple Studios project the most authentic racing film ever made.
That will be bolstered by footage of the car shot this weekend in private filming slots between on-track sessions, and the use of actual F1 race footage.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, a producer on the movie (which is yet to confirm an official title), is assisting with the script for the project, to further enhance its authenticity.
Car photo courtesy of F1 and Apple Studios
