Domenicali: F1 movie testbed for new technologies

Formula 1 has seen a surge in viewership in recent years, with an ever populous younger audience tuning in to watch race weekends. This trend can be largely attributed to the , a series which delves deep into the lives of F1 drivers and the machinations of teams as a whole behind the scenes.

An F1 movie has been in the works for quite some time, with extensive filming taking place across several Grand Prix weekends both this year and the last. With none other than Lewis Hamilton as one of the Executive Producers, the movie draws heavily from real-life scenarios and many shots will feature the 20 drivers on the current F1 grid in an effort to be as realistic as possible.

The CEO of the Formula One Group, Stefano Domenicali, hopes that the movie will draw more people into watching the sport of F1 much like the Netflix series has done.

In an exclusive interview with motorsport.com, Domenicali stated that he expects the F1 movie, named F1, will have an ever larger impact than Drive to Survive. He said: "I think that if Netflix was big, I think that the movie – and we discussed in Hungary the plan of commercialisation and promotion – will be massive.

"We're going to hit a target that is not yet present," claimed the F1 boss.

Domenicali has made it clear that the upcoming film will not overly sensationalise the sport, and will remain as authentic ant true-to-life as possible for existing F1 fans. He continued: "There was one element that was not negotiable: to do something unique.

"But in the context where we cannot touch the racing itself, because that's the sport, with different cuts, with different elements, we are doing a movie. So I do believe that you will be fascinated also to see the making of it, because people will realise the complexity that we are managing and the things that are behind it. It is really impressive," added Domenicali.

Finally, the Italian engineer has revealed that various new technologies are being trialled on the modified Formula 2 cars used for the movie, including novel camera angles which could be implemented by the sport itself down the line. He continued: "We are developing together new technology of cameras, with different angles of view.

"So I would say it’s a nice place to develop certain new technology that we're going to bring afterwards."