All you need to know about APXGP cars in Brad Pitt's F1 feature film

F1

Here's everything we know so far about the cars used in Brad Pitt's upcoming film F1, including details on top speed, lap times and who is behind the wheel

Monza APEX

APXGP have been spotted at several circuits so far — including Monza (as pictured above)

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Cambridge Kisby

They may look and sound like the real deal, but the F1 cars used in Brad Pitt’s upcoming grand prix film — F1 — are actually dressed up F2 cars, which have been modified by Mercedes to blend in seamlessly with the rest of the current grid.

A pair of the APXGP black and gold liveried cars first appeared at the 2023 British Grand Prix, where they ran close together over several laps and even made an appearance on the starting grid of Sunday’s GP — sparking rumours that they’d also take part in the parade lap. Since then, they’ve been spotted testing and filming at other circuits such as the Hungaroring, Spa-Francorchamps, Monza and Yas Marina.

Each car has been fitted with an array of cameras and sensors — of much higher quality to the ones that are fitted to current F1 cars — which aim to showcase the true speed and G-forces experienced by the drivers in the cockpit. The first onboard footage collected from test sessions in Silverstone and Hungary was seen for the first time in F1‘s first official trailer, which was aired for the first time over the 2024 British GP weekend.

Behind the scene’s footage from one particular test at Silverstone also showed one of the APXGP cars being shunted into the pit wall on the Hamilton Straight.

As filming continues and the release date draws closer, here’s everything we know so far about the cars used in Brad Pitt’s new F1 film:

 

How much do the APXGP cars differ from real-life F1 cars?

Apex GP on the back of the Silverstone grid

Apex GP on the back of the Silverstone grid. The team even had its own ‘prat perch’ on the pitwall for added reality

DPPI

At first glance, each APXGP car appears to be largely indistinguishable from a real-life F1 car – however, there are some subtle yet significant differences.

Each model utilises a Dallara-built F2 chassis which are overlayed with augmented Mercedes-made bodywork to make the car appear as a regular member of the current F1 grid.

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As filming has continued, the APXGP team have also included subtle ‘upgrades’ to its car’s design to ensure another sense of realism. In 2023, simplified downwashing sidepods were added, as were cooling louvres which were fitted on top of the bodywork. There’s also an array of fake tyre sensors while changes were also made the front wing endplates.

But due to the use of a F2-chassis, there are limitations as to how far the APXGP car can be ‘developed’. In side-by-side comparisons with a regular 2024 F1 car, APXGP cars are approximately 400mm shorter and 100mm narrower – causing everything to look a little squashed together. Underneath the bodywork, the car is also far less intricate than the rest of the grid, with metal rods holding in place parts of the floor in order to moderate floor flex. The venturi tunnels underneath the car – which are a key design point in ground effect aerodynamics – are also simplified and smaller in size.

Due to its smaller and narrower body, APXGP cars also use marginally smaller and lighter tyres than their F1 counterparts. Each car is fitted with F2-spec Pirellis, which share the same 18-inch diameter as the F1-spec tyre but are 55mm narrower and offer less grip.

Apex Racing F1 Silverstone

APXGP on track at Silverstone

The attention to detail across the APXGP car arguably makes it look as if its cut from the same F1 cloth as Mercedes’ W15 or Ferrari‘s SF-24, but where it differs most is at the rear.

Alongside an F2 chassis, APXGP cars house an F2 engine: a 3.4-litre V6 Mecachrome retrofitted with a Van der Lee turbocharger which produces approximately 620bhp and is driven by a six-speed Hewland gearbox. The engine’s manufacturer, was briefly involved in F1 from 1998-1999 after taking over Renault‘s engine programme, but has been the sole engine supplier to F2 since 2018.

Conversely, the 1.6-litre V6 engines utilised by the rest of the F1 grid produce approximately 1000bhp, use a hybrid powertrain and are developed by one of four manufacturers: Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault, and Red Bull Powertrains.

But, although they may not perform like the real-deal, Mercedes has ensured that the APXGP machines are “fundamentally” race cars of reasonably similarity.

“We worked with Mercedes and this was actually Toto Wolff’s idea,” director Joseph Kosinski told Deadline. “At one of our first meetings, Toto said: ‘You should build this off a Formula 2 car, but make it look like a Formula 1 car,’ so it’s a Formula 2 chassis and engine.

“We worked closely with Mercedes and their design team and aerodynamicists to develop a custom body that resembles the latest generation Formula 1 car. They’re built specifically for this movie. They also have 15 camera mounts built into them, including the recorders and the batteries and the transmitters.

“They’re made for shooting movies, but they are fundamentally race cars.”

F1 cars and APXGP — what’s the difference? 

Car Formula 1  APXGP
Top speed 220mph+ 208mph
DRS Yes Yes
Engine size 1.6-litre V6 3.4-litre V6
Approximate power 1000bhp 620bhp
Tyre size 18-inches 18-inches
Car size 5.63m x 2m x 0.95m 5.23m x 1.9m x 1.09m

 

What is the top speed of Brad Pitt’s F1 car?

Apex F1 car on track at Silverstone

How fast will Brad Pitt go in his APXGP machine?

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Although the APXGP machine may look and sound like the real-deal, its performance won’t quite match up to the rest of the F1 field — but Brad Pitt and company could still reach speeds of up to 200mph during filming and testing at certain circuits.

There is yet to be an official lap time posted at any circuit by an APXGP car, but with F2-like performance, it could expected to lap at similar speeds. At the 2024 British Grand Prix, the F1 pole time, set by George Russell, was 1min 25.819sec, while the F2 pole time, set by Isack Hadjar around the same circuit, was 1min 39.368sec.

 

Who will drive the cars in Brad Pitt’s new F1 film?

Brad Pitt Racing at the Movies

Brad Pitt and Damson Idris managing to blend in

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Both Brad Pitt (Sonny Hayes) and Damson Idris (Joshua Pierce) have been behind the wheel on several grand prix weekends and during test days, which has taken months of practice and preparation.

As well as helping to build the fleet of APXGP cars, Toto Wolff revealed that Mercedes had also sent Pitt to a driving school in France, where he progressed from driving Formula 4 cars “all the way up” to Formula 1.

From the archive

Lewis Hamilton, who is a co-producer on the movie, has too been involved in coaching Pitt, and has been impressed by the American’s potenital.

“We went to a track in LA,” he told Esquire. “I took him out and sat in the passenger seat, and he drove. I used to be a driving coach when I was younger. It was a way of making some money part time whilst I was racing.

“So I’ve sat with God knows how many non-racing drivers. You can tell immediately the good ones, the bad ones. Straight away he was on it. You could tell he has it. He has it in his DNA. He’s just not been able to hone in on it like we have. But he’s got big potential.

“Ultimately, the story of a fifty-odd-year-old jumping into the season and fighting against us youngsters – it’s just not the done thing.

“But then there’s discussing: How would you go about doing that? How much training would you have to do in order to really be able to come back and fight and react in the same way? There’s a lot of detail that went into it.”

Supporting Pitt and Idris will also be a number of stunt drivers – former Superleague and GT driver Craig Dolby stood in for the former during the 2023 British GP filming.

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