Tom Cruise ‘would have crashed’ if picked over Brad Pitt for F1 movie role

Tom Cruise would have “scared” the director of ‘F1’ more than Brad Pitt had he been cast in the lead role.

Pitt stars in the leading role in the upcoming F1 film as Sonny Hayes, a former driver who returns to F1 alongside Damson Idris as his rookie teammate at APXGP, a fictional team on the grid. 

The movie, which will be released internationally on 25 June, has been produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, while seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has played an advisory role.

‘F1’ movie director Joseph Kosinski, who worked with Cruise on ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, admitted that the 62-year-old Hollywood star “always pushes it to the limit”.

“Tom always pushes it to the limit, but at the same time is super capable and very skilled,” Kosinski told GQ magazine.

“They both have the natural talent for driving. But yeah, I could see Tom maybe scaring us a little bit more.”

Graham Kelly, an action-vehicle supervisor who has worked with Cruise on the ‘Mission Impossible’ films, agreed with Kosinski’s assessment.

“We’d have had a crash,” Kelly said. “Tom pushes it to the limit. I mean really to the limit. That terrifies me.

“I mean, I’ve done loads of ‘Mission: Impossibles’ with Tom and it’s the most stressful experience for someone like me building cars for him, doing stunts with him.

“Whereas Brad listens and he knows his abilities, and I think he’d be the first to say, ‘Yeah, I’m not going to do that.’”

F1 drivers speak highly of movie

All of the F1 drivers barring Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll got to watch a private screening of the new movie ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix.

The film was praised by F1 drivers, particularly for its action sequences.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc said: "It was really cool. Obviously, we are looking at it as Formula 1 drivers, and we always try and see all the small details that are not exactly the way we live things.

“But it's very Hollywood-like, and I think that's really cool because it's not just for F1 drivers in the end. It's for a broader audience, and I thought it's absolutely great for the sport to have a movie like that.”

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly added: "It looked great. For Formula 1, for the sport, it's an amazing opportunity to dive into our world."

Hamilton admitted he was “nervous” for his fellow drivers to see the film he helped produce.

“It was great to look around and see some of the reactions from the drivers,” Hamilton said. “I really care what the drivers think and I wanted them to think highly of it… I was sat in the middle and I was nervous.

“I messaged them afterwards, welcoming their honest opinions about it… the timing may be off on a strategy stop or whatever it might be, but I think the great thing is the sound is great, the image is incredible, it's something that's never been done before so I'm really proud.”