Damson Idris, who played the driver Joshua Pearce in the recently released F1 movie, has revealed that he 'nearly died' while filming for the project. The incident happened during a session at the Circuit of the Americas track in Austin, Texas. Idris and co-star Brad Pitt were trained in junior formula machinery, progressing through the ranks to become comfortable in the modified Formula Two cars that were used to capture footage for the movie.
While both actors ended up with a strong grasp of the cars, the Brit suffered a scary incident. During an interview with Capital's Nada Allali, Idris and Pitt were asked about times where they feared serious crashes while behind the wheel. "A million times." the 33-year-old confessed.
"I was supposed to be going in fourth and I was going in fifth and I spun this close to the wall and nearly died. Everyone was waiting and everyone was like 'Damson? Damson?' and I was like 'woah!'"
Fortunately, Idris escaped unscathed from the incident, and filming was wrapped without any serious mishaps behind the wheel from either co-star. That's not necessarily the case in the movie, though, where crashes play an important role in plot progression, showcasing the danger and thrill of Grand Prix racing.
Pitt got the ultimate experience of F1's speed after the movie's glitzy New York premiere in the aftermath of the Canadian Grand Prix.
For the latest breaking stories and headlines, sign up to our Daily Express F1 newsletter, or join our WhatsApp community here.
The 61-year-old jumped in Lando Norris' machine and even received some pointers from the Brit before heading out onto the track, where he reached speeds of up to 197 miles per hour. "It was Lando's '23 [car]," he told BBC Radio 1 afterwards. "I did not sleep for 36 hours afterwards. I was on such a high."
Pitt also received help from Lewis Hamilton during the filming process. The seven-time world champion worked as a producer on the movie and helped to keep the racing scenes as realistic and authentic as possible while working in the confines of a Hollywood production.
"He's been keeping us straight, going, 'No, no, no, that doesn't fly, [it] needs to go this way,' and his knowledge, it's so incredible," Pitt explained. "Right down to the sound, he can actually pick out and go, 'No, no, no, no, no, that's turn 12, that's not turn 16. You need more reverb on the straight here, you hear this massive reverb into [turn] one.' He's that specific, it's incredible."
"He's been keeping us straight, going, 'No, no, no, that doesn't fly, [it] needs to go this way,' and his knowledge, it's so incredible," Pitt explained. "Right down to the sound, he can actually pick out and go, 'No, no, no, no, no, that's turn 12, that's not turn 16. You need more reverb on the straight here, you hear this massive reverb into [turn] one.' He's that specific, it's incredible."
