Everything you need to know about the APXGP cars in Brad Pitt’s F1 feature film

While filming has continued, the APXGP team have also made subtle ‘upgrades’ to the design of their car to ensure an even more realistic feel. In 2023, simplified downwashing sidepods have been added, as have cooling fins added to the top of the bodywork. There are also a number of fake tyre sensors, while changes have also been made to the front wing endplates.

However, due to the use of an F2 chassis, there are limitations to how far the APXGP car can be ‘evolved’. In direct comparison to a regular 2024 F1 car, APXGP cars are around 400mm shorter and 100mm narrower – making everything look a little squashed together. Underneath the bodywork, the car is also far less complex than the rest of the grid, with metal rods holding parts of the floor in place to moderate ground flex. The venturi tunnels under the car – which are a key design point in ground effect aerodynamics – are also simplified and smaller.

Due to their smaller and narrower bodywork, APXGP cars also use slightly smaller and lighter tires than their F1 counterparts. Each car is fitted with F2-specific Pirellis, which have the same 18-inch diameter as the F1 tires, but are 55mm narrower and offer less grip.

The attention to detail on the APXGP car arguably makes it look like it’s cut from the same F1 cloth as Mercedes’ W15 or Ferrari’s SF-24. The biggest difference, however, is at the rear.

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

In contrast, the 1.6-litre V6 engines used by the rest of the F1 grid produce around 1,000bhp, use a hybrid powertrain and are developed by one of four manufacturers: Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault and Red Bull Powertrains.

But even though their performance may not be able to match that of the original, Mercedes has ensured that the APXGP machines are “basically” racing cars with somewhat similar equipment.

“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 based on 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 bespoke body that resembles the latest generation Formula 1 car. They were built specifically for this film. They also have 15 built-in camera mounts, including the recorders, batteries and transmitters.

“They may be made for making movies, but they’re basically racing cars.”

F1 cars and APXGP – what’s the difference?

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

While the APXGP machine may look and sound like the real thing, it can’t quite keep up with the rest of the F1 field in terms of performance. Still, Brad Pitt and co. could reach speeds of up to 320 km/h during filming and testing on certain race tracks.

There is no official lap time recorded by an APXGP car on a race track yet, but with F2-like performance, one might expect it to travel at similar speeds. At the 2024 British Grand Prix, the F1 pole time achieved by George Russell was 1 minute 25.819 seconds, while the F2 pole time achieved by Isack Hadjar on the same track was 1 minute 39.368 seconds.

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

Both Brad Pitt (Sonny Hayes) and Damson Idris (Joshua Pierce) were behind the wheel for several Grand Prix weekends and test days, requiring months of training and preparation.

Toto Wolff revealed that Mercedes not only helped Pitt build the APXGP fleet, but also sent him to a driving school in France, where he worked his way up from driving Formula 4 cars “all the way to the top” of Formula 1.