“F1” movie’s Javier Bardem reveals “tension” driving the film

The F1 movie is set for release this summer. Starring Brad Pitt and Damson Idris, it’s expected to be a hit with fans of the sport. And as we edge closer to the action hitting the silver screen, Javier Bardem, who plays struggling team owner Ruben Cervantes, has given us more to chew on regarding the “tension” running throughout the movie and pushing the plot forward.

In an interview with F1.com, Bardem, known for his roles in No Country for Old Men and Skyfall among others, revealed one of the main storylines – a plot that threatens the fictional APXGP team.

“There’s a moment where Ruben and the whole team is investigated for having done something that is not legal,” the Spanish actor explained. “We have to find out through the whole movie if that thing was really happening on my back, or it was something that was beyond our control, done by somebody else by mistake.”

According to Bardem, if these allegations are proven true, “our car – which happens to be renewed and more upgraded and way better than the car of the year before, as it should be – cannot race anymore. And we have to go back to the old one, which doesn’t really perform.”

Directed by Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton, the film follows Sonny Hayes (Pitt) as he works to grow and improve the struggling team in the ultimate underdog story. With the Ferrari driver consulting heavily throughout the film’s production, he’s managed to keep it on the straight and narrow, maintaining the production’s realism as best as possible while also creating an exciting story.

“I think it’s going to be the most authentic movie ever done about the F1 world,” Bardem said. “And that’s beyond saying. But, on top of that, it has a heart inside. It has a heart and it has a motive about, really, what it means to be comrades, what it means to really sacrifice yourself for a team, for the best of others.

“And for a group of people to win together rather than just get the victory just for yourself.

“It’s an exercise about really sacrificing yourself in order to belong to something greater than your own ego, for example.”

Bardem admitted he was “not a huge racing fan myself, because I barely know how to drive a car, so it’s not in my nature.” But after consuming the likes of Drive to Survive and other documentaries, he became “very interested”.

F1 will hit cinemas on 25 June internationally and 27 June in North America.