Kerry Condon reflects on filming powerful scene with Brad Pitt in ‘F1’

Irish actor Kerry Condon, who played APX GP technical director Kate McKenna in the F1 movie as shared her experience filming a tense scene with Brad Pitt, who starred as racing driver Sonny Hayes.

Directed by Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the movie also stars Damson Idris, Javier Bardem, Tobias Menzies, and Kim Bodnia, with seven time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton serving as an executive producer.

The story follows veteran racer Sonny Hayes as he returns to Formula 1 to help the struggling new team APX GP and its rookie driver Joshua Pearce, played by Idris. Since its June 2025 release, it has earned $68.8 million at the box office.

Speaking to Deadline, the Night Swim star recalled filming an early scene where her character bluntly tells Hayes, “Sonny Hayes isn’t a has-been, he’s a never was.”

“That was very early on in the shoot,” she said. “We shot at Silverstone, and it was a big high. Everyone went out, but I was like, ‘I’m not going out. I’ve got that big scene with Brad on Tuesday. There’s no way I’m hitting the town.”

Condon explained that she stayed focused to deliver her best. “I laid low because I knew I had that scene coming up. The biggest thing for me in that scene was when I picked up the pint, I was like, ‘Don’t shake the pint! That would give away the fact that I was nervous.”

The 42-year-old continued, “Joe [Joseph Kosinski] said, the more takes we did, the meaner I got, which surprised me. A lot of the cuts you see were from the first take. The actors’ strike started the next day, so a part of me was like, ‘I could get recast if I don’t do this good.’”

Filmed during real Formula 1 race weekends, F1 featured real drivers and crew. Condon said,“I felt like we were guests of Formula 1, you couldn’t be like, ‘Can I go to my trailer?’ It was like, ‘You’ve got to be ready.’ I kind of loved the non-princessy vibe.”