Hans Zimmer (center), flanked by producer and driver Lewis Hamilton (left) and star Damson Idris. Dave Benett/WireImage Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Logo text F1: The Movie marks the third racing feature that Hans Zimmer has scored - following 1990's Days of Thunder and 2013's Rush - but it was a thrill unlike any other composing for a film that had unprecedented access to the world of Formula 1. "I think the main thing I could add to F1 was excitement, pace and a little bit of romanticism," the German composer tells THR, adding with a laugh, "One of the things that interested me was, you've got to be crazy to be a race car driver!" F1, which stars Brad Pitt and Damson Idris as teammates on an underdog racing team, reunited Zimmer with producer and longtime collaborator Jerry Bruckheimer after they worked together on Days of Thunder as well as The Rock, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and Pearl Harbor, among many others. Add Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski and real-life F1 champion driver Lewis Hamilton (who served as a producer) to the mix, and Zimmer couldn't say no to the project. Related Stories Movies How Brad Pitt Learned to Bump His Stunt Driver Off the Road Music Jerry Bruckheimer on 'F1's' Music: "This Is a Contemporary Movie, It Needed a Contemporary Soundtrack" When Zimmer first read the script for the movie, he knew he wanted to include as much electronic music as possible to match the howling of the F1 engine. "But there is orchestra as well, partly because I love the orchestra, partly because we live in a time where we need to support the orchestras," he says. "I did this film, which I really wanted to do because it was apolitical," he adds. "It dealt with technology and fun, and at the same time, we're living in complicated times. So I thought, 'The one thing I could do really well at this moment in time is when people go to the cinema, [I want] to put a smile on their face." Hans Zimmer wanted the F1: The Movie score to resemble the howling of the cars' engines. Scott Garfield What resulted was a futuristic score infused with sounds from the '80s. Zimmer, who worked on the music with co-composer Steve Mazzaro, approached the score for the opening sequence differently than with previous projects. "Right at the beginning, when you see the car [driving around the circuit] and the drums come in, I go straight for a disco beat, and I've never done that before," he muses. "I've always avoided that. Film music is all about making it so that the audience gets a surprise. That car going around, it was exciting, so I thought, 'I'm going to celebrate that.' " After his career scoring more than 150 films, the thrilling racing sequences in F1 presented a unique proposition for Zimmer. "The challenge was to keep it exciting but keep it light," he says. "I have a tendency to go dark. When I say dark, there should be a color on the color palette called Zimmer Black. (Laughs.) I wanted us to get to that moment at the end of the film where [Pitt's character] Sonny Hayes is flying, and I wanted people to feel great. Like, do we really need to go to the cinema right now and feel Zimmer Black? I don't think so. There's nothing dark about these race car drivers. These guys are reckless, they love what they do, and they're funny in their recklessness." F1 was a collaboration across the board, from production consulting with Formula 1 to schedule tiny windows within real races to shoot footage, to Zimmer working internally with the sound design department. "We made a plan early on about which race would be music-heavy and which would be a sound effects-heavy race," he says. "We inevitably were going to collide, so it really became story points: Who gets to lead here and who will get to make the loudest noise in this race? It was a very peaceful production. This was a movie about a team, made by a team." See more on the making of F1: The Movie and other awards contenders at THR's dedicated site for behind-the-scenes stories at THR.com/behindthescreen. This story first appeared in a January stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day Subscribe Sign Up Song Sung Blue Kate Hudson Returns to the Oscars Race, 25 Years After 'Almost Famous': "You're Always Only One Part Away" Noah Baumbach Making of 'Jay Kelly': Noah Baumbach's Crisis of Faith in Filmmaking CSA Artios Awards Casting Society Reveals 2026 Artios Awards Film Nominees, Hosts Shaun the Sheep Movie GKIDS Corrals New 'Shaun the Sheep' Film for U.S. Snoop Dogg Golden Globes Presenters Include George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Macaulay Culkin international Louis Koo Action Drama 'Back To The Past' Set for North American Rele