F1 The Movie has been zooming around with DRS wide open, raking over $144 million in its opening weekend alone. And having already watched it thrice, I can safely say that director Joseph Kosinski has cooked something special for die-hard motorsport fans.
While Rush and Ford Vs Ferrari long kept their place on my list of the top racing movies of all time, the new F1 movie has quite easily joined them. Featuring authentic Grand Prix action and real-life driver cameos, it’s a treat for every F1 fan. That said, let’s rank every driver cameo in F1 The Movie to see who stole the show other than Brad Pitt.
F1 The Movie Cameos, Ranked
Before I start, not every driver in F1 has been brought on camera. Some are just referenced during wheel-to-wheel action through either commentary or with their actual F1 car. So, I’ll only be shining light on those who actually got screen time, and to be spoiler-free, I’ll avoid giving away too much information. Let’s dive straight in.
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton
Ranking Sir Lewis as the top appearance in the movie wasn’t that hard to do. The seven-time world champion is featured as the final boss in Abu Dhabi, where he quite simply steals the show. Having plenty of quick glamour shots scattered around various scenes, the movie treats you with Hamilton’s charm quite frequently, and it never gets boring.
Max Emilian Verstappen
The second most prominent driver is, of course, Verstappen. He, too, appears frequently in post-race highlights or on the podium. And just like Hamilton, he also serves as a boss moment at Monza for Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris). As JP tries to pass Max to bag a win, the race becomes extremely feisty, causing drama in classic Max Verstappen fashion.
Fernando Alonso Diaz
Although I wish Diaz had more screen time, even his limited appearance was enough to put him on the podium of my ranking. Apart from a couple of blink-and-miss shots, Alonso appears in a scene where Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) is caught up by the media for post-race FAQs.
Here, Alonso steps in and taps Sonny’s shoulder and gives him a thumbs-up. While the scene lasts for just a couple of seconds, it’s special, since no real driver gets this close to Brad Pitt throughout the flick.
Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, George Russell, and Lando Norris
While the drivers above had their highlights and moments. Leclerc, Sainz, Russel, and Norris are the remaining drivers who were present in the scenes worth remembering.
Being Ferrari superstars, both Leclerc and Sainz have represented Ferrari by earning several podiums and showing up in at least one battle for the top spots.
Russell follows the same tradition and gets a highlight as he shares the Abu Dhabi podium with Leclerc and Brad Pitt. Norris, on the other hand, gets a couple of glamour shots and a podium. Due to their similar roles, I have grouped all of these drivers in fourth place.
The Rest of the Grid
Featuring every driver in 2 hours and 45 minutes is practically impossible, so the rest of the grid is credited by split-second cameos. While Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, and Kevin Magnussen share a couple of battle moments with Sonny and Joshua, others get cameos so short that you could miss them with a blink. Here’s the complete list of drivers you can spot if you pay close attention.
- Sergio Perez (Red Bull Racing)
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren Racing Limited)
- Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake)
- Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake)
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team)
- Nico Hülkenberg (MoneyGram Haas F1 Team)
- Daniel Ricciardo (Scuderia AlphaTauri)
- Yuki Tsunoda (Scuderia AlphaTauri)
- Nyck de Vries (Scuderia AlphaTauri)
- Liam Lawson (Scuderia AlphaTauri)
- Alexander Albon (Atlassian Williams Racing)
- Logan Sargeant (Atlassian Williams Racing)
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