Fresh off the historic success of Top Gun: Maverick, director Joseph Kosinski took the approach to shooting vehicles in motion at incredibly fast speeds that was pioneered for that film and adapted it to a new form. F1 launches like a rocket from its very first moments, putting audiences in the driver’s seat of cars that can travel more than 200 miles per hour.
Immersing audiences in the high-speed world of Formula One racing was no easy feat—it meant developing new technologies and new techniques for filming these races at extraordinary speeds.
To learn more about what went into shooting this film, Camera Operator sat down with Lukasz Bielan to discuss the challenges, triumphs, and unexpected curveballs that made working on the movie so memorable. We also reached out to 1st AC Dan Ming to get a detailed look at what went into building the unique camera systems developed for this film.
Decades after a catastrophic crash knocked the young Formula One driver off his path to success, Sonny Hayes is left with an itch he can’t quite scratch. Sure, he still races in Daytona, but after coming so close to achieving a dream, living in the shadow of his own potential has become a burden. When he’s approached with an offer from friend and former teammate—now owner of the last-place APXGP racing team—Hayes joins only to find himself butting heads with the team’s young rookie, Joshua Pearce. F1 is directed by Joseph Kosinski from a screenplay by Ehren Kruger and stars Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, and Javier Bardem.
