F1 The film, Friday, which is in American theaters and IMAX, has the potential for summer superproduction, given the huge budget – northern $ 200 million – and the power of the stars – Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, Camées de Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and other Formula 1 drivers – to be involved. So, if you are an F1 beginner who seeks to spend a few hours of entertainment in an air -conditioned theater, or you saw the film but do not fully understand all these terms on tires and safety cars and DRS, we are covered. Below, some of your questions answered. (With a decisive pass from the director of the Mercedes team, Toto Wolff, executive producer of the film which also makes an appearance in the film).
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]Can a 61-year-old man have not run Formula 1 In more than 30 years, be in fact a competitive engine?
It’s a film, people. And although PitT is indeed a 61 -year -old actor, we never discover the age of his character, Sonny Hayes, the washing of companion whose promising F1 career was derailed by a horrible accident during a race in Barcelona in 1993. Pitt could represent a younger man. “I don’t think Sonny is 61,” said Wolff.
Let’s say that, for reasons of argument, Hayes was an 18 -year -old rising star during this race in Barcelona. This would put it around 50 in the film. The middle age drivers were more common in ancient times: Luigi Fagioli, at 53, is the oldest F1 driver to win a race; He shared the 1951 French Grand Prix title with another driver. Fernando Alonso is the oldest pilot in the current gate: the double world champion, which currently leads for Aston Martin, will be 44 years old at the end of July. But Alonso has not won a race since 2013.
Hayes always has driving talents: at the start of the film, we see him helping his team win the 24 -hour endurance race in Daytona. The transition to F1 shortly after is a little stretchy, but not, according to Wolff, quite impossible. “Race cars are like learning to cycle,” explains Wolff. “You don’t unlearn that.”
What is DRS?
It is a term that appears in the film, and in real races: DRS or drag reduction system. During F1 races, in designated areas of the track – especially on Straigtaways – the drivers can open a shutter on the rear wing of the car to reduce the aerodynamic trail and exceed the opponents. A car must be less than a second of the runner he tries to catch to use the DRS.
What do all tire terms mean?
HandleWolff explains: “is a tire that sticks to the ground. The more you get to the ground, the faster you go to a corner. ” Quite simple. “Here is the warning,” explains Wolff. “Going beyond this collage or sliding limit, creates overheating of the tire. So what you want to do is actually the optimal handle, the optimum by sticking to the ground without abandoning and sliding.”
Tires for dry racing conditions – the tablecloth Tires – Come in three classifications: soft The tires offer the most grip, but last the shortest period of time before deteriorating, so they are ideal for qualifying races, or when a driver needs a gust of speed. Hard tires last longer – economy economy stops – but have less grip and lead to slower round time. AVERAGE The tires divide the difference between the two.
Under wet conditions, the teams use intermediate The tires, which are grooved to allow drivers to navigate in the slopes without stagnant water or on drying surfaces. The deeper grooves of wet The tires can disperse more water and are the best for the rainy days.
So what is the problem with the “F1 teammates”?
Each of the 10 Formula 1 teams is made up of two pilots, who all fight for two championships at each race: the manufacturer’s title, in which the combined performance of the two pilots helps the team to bring together points and trophies, and the title of the driver, in which a single driver is designated world champion. The runners often put more participation in the individual title, which builds their inheritance and their marks. So, even if they are supposed to work together on the track, they often want to fight with a checkered flag.
F1 The tension revolves around the aging of Hayes and his teammate in the fictitious racing team of the APXGP, Joshua Pearce of Damson Idris, a young talent from Great Britain. Loggerheads drivers are quite common in F1. “Tension still exists, which you just have to accept,” says Wolff. “It’s like that.”
Wolff would know: as a boss of Mercedes, he had to manage the competition between Lewis Hamilton, the seven times F1 champion, and Nico Rosberg, who won the 2016 title against Hamilton before retiring. There was hostility between the duo, especially after Rosberg used an engine mode prohibited by the team to obtain an advantage in Hamilton during the Bahrain 2014 Grand Prix. Hamilton made the favor in Barcelona a month later.
Drivers are calibrated to win at all costs. “You can’t expect the lion in the car and the puppy outside,” explains Wolff. “They drive with the knife between the teeth. This is the role of the team director to say: “No more”. And that’s what we did. »» Mercedes Drivers won each title between 2014-2020 (Hamilton in 2014, 2015, 2017-2020, Rosberg in 2016), and eight consecutive manufacturers of 2014-2021.
Can they really rethink the car like that between races?
In F1, The technical director of APXGP, Kate McKenna, played by the candidate for Oscars Kerry Condon, modifies the design of the car: the chest helps increase the results of the team. Yes, this actually happens in the real Formula 1. Although a set of strict technical regulations guide the composition of an F1 car, the teams can offer innovations in these rules to give themselves an advantage. Before the 2020 season, for example, Mercedes changed the steering column: its drivers could push and pull the wheel to change the alignment of the tires. The advantage of management was so effective that it was prohibited next season and beyond.
What is the difference between a virtual safety car and a real safety car?
Track accidents and dust slows down the race. For less serious incidents, managers send a “virtual safety car” – no physical car is deployed on the track, but cars must reduce their speed by 30 to 40% of the normal racing pace. The gap between the runners therefore remains the same before restarting.
For the most serious accidents, which require more time to eliminate debris from the track, a real car – the safety car – between the track. The cars bind behind the safety vehicle: although drivers cannot exceed on the track while a safety car is deployed, they can get closer. Thus, a driver who was well behind the leader, or the car in front of him, can actually erase such a deficit. “It resets the race,” explains Wolff.
What raises the whole question: could an F1 teammate crash on purpose to give another advantage? It is unlikely that this will happen for several reasons. First, a driver may hurt or worse in an accident. And second, a 2008 incident in Singapore, in which Renault’s driver, Nelson Piquet Jr. Alonso won the race. But the “crashgate” benefits that resulted in prohibitions for the Renault team leaders. Renault was threatened with disqualification of F1.
The risk is not worth it.
Given the speeds of 200 MPH and more than we see in F1, how often are drivers injured, or worse?
According to a study in 2025 which appeared in the newspaper of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, 264 total injuries and 43 deaths were reported in events related to F1 between 1950 and 2023. The analysis included 865 F1 drivers. While a mortality rate of 5% for F1 drivers seems to be frightening, there is a crucial warning: a majority of deaths took place in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. No F1 driver died in the 2020s. “The evolution of F1 security regulations”, concludes the study, “seems to have succeeded in reducing total injuries, total deaths and most of the classifications of injuries”.
Are all F1 races the same number of laps?
No, because each track or circuit has different designs and lengths of towers. F1 races must cover a minimum of 305 km (or around 190 miles). Each race concerns this length: but although the Belgian Grand Prix, for example, only requires 44 laps to reach this distance on the long spa track, the shorter circuit in the Netherlands requires 72 laps.
An exception to this rule is the street circuit in Monaco: this race covers just 260 km (162 miles). Due to narrow roads and net turns on the Monaco track, the time on the turn are slower, so the distance is shorter to allow it to be completed within two hours of the F1 for the races. (A race can take up to three hours in the event of suspensions due to bad weather; most are made in about 90 minutes).
What did the film pilots think?
Retropping seems to be positive of real F1 drivers; They saw him during a screening in front of the Monaco Grand Prix in May. In the public was Kimi Antonelli, the 18 -year -old Mercedes driver who finished his latest secondary exams just after winning his first podium with a third place in Montreal in June. Unsurprisingly, what stood out in Antonelli was 2 hours and 36 minutes time. “It’s scary for a long time,” he said later.
