Formula 1 is set to hit the big screens this year after several months of filming trackside on race weekends.
Brad Pitt takes on the starring role as Sonny Hayes, alongside Damson Idris who plays his teammate, Joshua Pearce, in the fictional APX GP team.
It was produced by the people behind Top Gun: Maverick and will take fans into the hot seat, with unique camera angles and footage from actual races. Many of the drivers on the current grid are also playing themselves, including Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
The film revolves around Pitt’s character, a veteran driver who has been absent from F1 for years and returns to one of the backmarker teams in a bid to turn around their fortunes and mentor one of their rookie drivers.
The synopsis makes reference to an accident in the 1990s that derailed his career, while Pitt’s character can be seen getting into an early 90s Lotus in the trailer. What might be unknown to some is that this is a reference to a harrowing real-life crash that happened to a former driver.
Who is Martin Donnelly?
Martin Donnelly was one of Ireland’s promising talents in F1 during the early 90s, having found some success in junior formulas including Formula Three and Formula 3000.
Donnelly would earn his racing debut in British F3 with the help of Eddie Jordan in 1983, and finished runner-up three times between 1985 and 1987 in the championship before going on to win the Macau Grand Prix in 1987.
After a brief foray into sports car racing in the late 80s, he would substitute Arrows driver Derek Warwick at the 1989 French Grand Prix and was impressive as he outqualified regular Eddie Cheever.
He earned a full-time drive with Lotus in 1990, where he contested 12 rounds before a tragic accident at Jerez cut short his career.
Martin Donnelly’s 42G crash that nearly claimed his life
The crash that is referenced in the movie happened at the Jerez circuit at the 14th round of the season, where Donnelly suffered a serious crash caused by suspension failure during practice.
His Lotus hit the wall at 160mph, causing his car to break apart and eject Donnelly from the wreckage, causing him to sustain multiple injuries. Donnelly recalled the crash in a documentary for F1 TV.
“The car was quick, the lap times were good, I was pushing hard. I had everything I had ever dreamed of. And then, through no fault of my own, everything just went dark,” said Donnelly.
“My body went through a 42G impact. I got thrown out of the car by 50 meters. My internal organs were all damaged. My femur came out of the side of my leg. And I was lying on the ground, not breathing, because I swallowed my tongue. I don’t think the marshals at the time knew how to react, they were trying to feel my pulse. I honestly do think they believed I was dead.
“Sid Watkins, the medical delegate for the FIA, is the man who saved my life. He then got me stabilised and breathing again so I could be transferred to the hospital.”
Aftermath of Martin Donnelly’s horrific Jerez crash in 1990
Donnelly’s condition was critical when he reached the hospital, so much that he was read the last rites by a priest. Doctors managed to save him and with extensive physiotherapy, he started to walk again months later.
After having a brief test with Jordan, Donnelly decided to call time on his F1 career due to the severity of his injuries and doubts about making it back to his normal self.
Donnelly would go on to compete in rallycross and, latterly in some endurance races including the Silverstone 24-hour race in 2004 and the British Touring Car Championship in 2015.
