Natalie Pinkham on... 'F1: The Movie'

Often the Formula One narrative is so extraordinary that if it was pitched as a Hollywood script, it would be dismissed as pure fantasy. Remember after 21 humdinger races Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton arriving in Abu Dhabi for their infamous 2021 championship showdown on exactly 369.5 points each? What followed truly defied belief.

So imagine when we were told Hollywood’s finest were going to immerse themselves in F1 for two years to produce a film that would take the sport to the mainstream. Also imagine my excitement when Tim Bampton (one of the exec producers) called to ask whether I’d like to play myself in a press conference scene.

I had a single line, which I had to deliver directly to Brad Pitt... he doesn’t reply, just sneers incredulously at the audacity of my questioning his integrity following a catastrophic crash. I had to ask my unanswered question around 40 times from countless angles, to a very grumpy Sonny Hayes.

I checked in regularly to ask whether my cameo had made the cut. Not only has it made the final edit, I was told, but it was part of the trailer. We saw the movie at a private screening for the drivers and all those involved, just before the Monaco Grand Prix. I was sitting next to Martin Brundle, nervously waiting for my big moment. It cut to the press conference scene and... the focus was soft, blurred even – and it didn’t come back in to focus until after my line had been delivered. I was later told it was all to do with Sonny Hayes’ POV, he felt overwhelmed with the bombardment of journalist questions following the horror crash. Oh well, I’m there, just not in the pin-sharp 8K I was expecting.

Back to the film... the director Joseph Kosinski (of Top Gun: Maverick fame), is known for his sleek, action-packed visuals and his commitment to authenticity was impressive. Lewis Hamilton steered it back to reality with his regular input as exec producer, while Kerry Condon’s character is based on a combination of my friend and colleague, strategist Bernie Collins and Ruth Buscombe. Kerry even asked Bernie what would be written on the front of her work notepad, so that should the camera get the pad in shot, as least it would feel and look real.

What a surreal honour to have been involved in the smallest way. As Apple’s highest grossing theatrical release ($395m at the box office and counting) shot on location across Monza, Spa, Silverstone, Mexico, Vegas and Abu Dhabi, it’s a billboard for F1 across cinemas and streaming services. Like Drive to Survive it’s another turbocharged gateway for newcomers to the sport.

The film inevitably has a sprinkling of Hollywood gloss, an injection of sensationalism and a decent portion of cheese. My feeling (which I know many shared) was that there was the inclusion of an unnecessary one-night stand, which ultimately undermined the female technical director by making her the fleeting love interest of the protagonist. Subtlety after all doesn’t sell popcorn, but sex and CGI do.