The Formula 1 grid gathered for the first pre-screening for Brad Pitt’s new F1 movie, but one very famous face was absent for a hilarious reason.
The $300million Joseph Kosinski film will be released on June 25, and getting a glimpse were world champions Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso who turned up alongside their colleagues.
F1 captured the grid in the cinema, but two of the 20 drivers were missing, Lance Stroll, and more interestingly, four-time champion Max Verstappen.
It turns out that the Dutchman didn’t have the best excuse, either, as he was on a Twitch stream doing a sim race with his Team Redline at the time.
Verstappen is as keen a simulation racer as you can get, and rather hilariously used a fake name that’s quickly becoming common knowledge in motorsport circles.
Racing under the pseudonym of ‘Franz Hermann’ the reigning world champion also used the same name when he test drove a Ferrari GT3 car in real life at the Nurburgring Nordschleife at the start of May.
What makes Verstappen’s F1 movie snub all the more hilarious is the fact that the cinema was just walking distance from his house, with it taking place in Monte Carlo ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix.
The 27-year-old may well come up with another excuse, though, as he recently became a father.
His partner Kelly Piquet gave birth to their daughter ahead of the Miami Grand Prix at the start of May, which could’ve kept Verstappen busy.
However, snubbing a Hollywood film certainly wouldn’t be out of character for Verstappen, who has been quite the antidote to F1’s new found glitz and glamour.
The Dutchman has snubbed Netflix F1 documentary Drive to Survive for much of its running where it has taken the sport to new heights.
Among his multiple criticisms, he said in 2023: “I watched two episodes, but I was not very impressed. It’s just not my thing, faking rivalries.
“You don’t really see a lot of me in Drive to Survive because I don’t like doing it. So yeah, you probably don’t get the right side of me because it’s just an interview. I’m just sitting down in a dark room, and I hate that!”
During a boycott in 2021, he also said: “I understand this needs to be done to boost the popularity of F1 in America, but for my part, I don’t like to participate in it, being a racing driver.
“I did cooperate in previous seasons and then quotes were applied to other situations that I didn’t mention at all. They faked a lot of things. They faked rivalries that don’t exist at all.
“I have decided not to participate anymore and to no longer give interviews. Then you have no more material to show. I’m not one of those people for dramatic shows. I just want facts and real things that happen.”
Verstappen’s no nonsense approach was also applied to the Las Vegas Grand Prix which he ridiculed as it arrived on the calendar, drawing praise from the pursuits.
“It’s 99 per cent show and one per cent sporting event,” he said in 2023. “I think Monaco is like the Champions League, this is National League.
“I love Vegas but not to drive in a Formula 1 car. I love to have a few drinks, throw everything on red, have some nice food but emotions, passion? It’s not there compared to some old-school tracks.
“It’s more about the proper race tracks, Spa, Monza. Seeing the fans there is incredible and when I jump in the car I am fired up and I love driving around these places.”
Despite Verstappen’s snubs of Drive to Survive, Vegas and the F1 movie, it appears he won’t have a choice for the latest venture.
Filming for the Hollywood blockbuster has been taking place alongside live F1 events, and trailers already show Pitt and co-star Damson Idris lining up alongside Verstappen and the rest of the grid.
Conversely, rival Hamilton is an executive producer of the film, and has played a huge part in making it as authentic as possible.
