When fiction meets reality: the story of the Porsche Customer Racing team from F1® The Movie
Share article
Copy link
Share on Facebook
Share on X
Share on LinkedIn
In F1® The Movie, audiences will catch a glimpse of the film’s hero, Sonny Hayes, driving a Porsche 911 GT3 R at the 24 Hours of Daytona for the fictional Chip Hart Racing team. More recently, it bridged movie fiction and reality again – at Le Mans.
Say the words “Chip Hart Racing” to a motorsport fan and it’s likely they’ll shoot you a quizzical look. But while it might not have been a familiar name in the Le Mans paddock before, that was set to change this year. Why? Because it’s the name of a fictional race team running the Porsche 911 GT3 R race car in Apple Original Films’ F1® The Movie launched in theatres and IMAX® from Warner Bros. Pictures in North America on 27 June 2025 and internationally beginning 25 June 2025. The movie stars Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, Kim Bodnia, and Javier Bardem, with Pitt also serving as one of the producers – a list which also includes seven-time F1 world champion and current driver, Lewis Hamilton. In the film, Sonny Hayes (played by Pitt) drives a 911 GT3 R racecar for Chip Hart Racing at the legendary 24 Hours of Daytona. In reality, however, actual real-life, competing race cars from Wright Motorsports – a US-based Porsche Customer Racing team – contributed to the action-packed, on-track footage you see in the movie. The Chip Hart Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R racecars provided for filming in Daytona Photo: @oshivelyIn order for F1® The Movie’s production team to capture real racing at the famous Florida race circuit for the film, the Chip Hart Racing GT3 R raced for real at 2024’s Rolex 24 At Daytona GTD class as part of the Wright Motorsports team, who compete in North America’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, one of the world’s leading endurance and sprint racing competitions. But the Chip Hart Racing story didn’t end with its appearance in the movie. That’s because Porsche and Apple Original Films decided to bring Chip Hart Racing to Le Mans. One of three Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R racecars competed in the 2025 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June in the distinctive blue Chip Hart Racing livery from the film.The Porsche 911 GT3 R in between takes and pitstops for filming of F1® The Movie Photo: Scott Garfield | @stillscott“We’re truly bridging fiction and reality,” says Michael Dreiser, Director Motorsport Sales at Porsche AG. “This was an exciting moment for both Porsche Motorsport and its fans. It was great to see Chip Hart Racing make the jump from F1® The Movie to the racetrack when it competed at Le Mans this year.”“From Daytona to Le Mans, it’s been incredible to watch Chip Hart Racing blossom from a fictional racing team to being a genuine competitor in international motorsport,” adds Patrick Long, former Porsche Factory Driver, driving instructor, and actor in F1® The Movie. “It was exciting to see that mix of excitement, tension, and passion that you associate with top motorsport be played out in real life. And, of course, at such a legendary venue – and in the exact same car.”Go behind the scenes to find out about the Chip Hart Racing story in F1® The Movie here
?si=Eh1WqKTnp5nruXjvWhat Porsche car featured a Chip Hart Racing livery at the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans?A version of the Chip Hart Racing livery appeared on a Porsche 911 GT3 R at the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans race. It’s the same Porsche model that Sonny Hayes drives in F1® The Movie. Porsche customer racing teams are able to run the 911 GT3 R in worldwide motorsport events that adhere to GT3 regulations. Based on the 992.1 generation Porsche 911, the 911 GT3 R boasts a power output of up to 573 PS from its six-cylinder, 4.2-litre race-tuned engine.The Chip Hart Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R getting ready to race at Le Mans Photo: PorscheWhen was the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans race?This year marked the 93rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, perhaps the most famous race weekend in the motorsport calendar. It took place on the Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France over the weekend of 14-15 June 2025.Porsche racing cars line up ahead of the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans Photo: @oshivelyWhat is F1® The Movie?F1® The Movie tells the tale of “the greatest that never was”, Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), FORMULA 1’s most promising phenom of the 1990s until an accident on the track nearly ended his career. Thirty years later, he’s a nomadic racer-for-hire when he’s approached by his former teammate Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), owner of a struggling FORMULA 1 team that is on the verge of collapse.Ruben convinces Sonny to come back to FORMULA 1 for one last shot at saving the team and being the best in the world. He’ll drive alongside Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), the team's hotshot rookie intent on setting his own pace. But as the engines roar, Sonny’s past catches up with him and he finds that in FORMULA 1, your teammate is your fiercest competition – and the road to redemption is not something you can travel alone.The film was shot during actual F1 Grand Prix weekends, ensuring that Sonny and Joshua’s race cars competed against many of the titans of the current F1 grid. A production by Monolith Pictures/Jerry Bruckheimer/Plan B Entertainment/Dawn Apollo Films Production for Apple Studios, F1® The Movie was directed by Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Joseph Kosinski, Lewis Hamilton, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Chad Oman. Kosinski directed from a screenplay by Ehren Kruger, story by Kosinski & Kruger.See the Chip Hart Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R in action at Le Mans Photo: Porsche',',','When is F1®The Movie released?F1® The Movie is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures and is in cinemas now
All the racing action
Follow Porsche Motorsport
Continue reading
Watch Adrien Brody’s Porsche film, The Intern
Award-winning actor, Adrien Brody, headed to Stuttgart to work with the people making Porsche sportscars in a documentary he both directed and starred in
Read more
Dua Lipa auctions Porsche 911 GT3 RS for charity
Buy a piece of pop culture: Dua’s distinctive 911 GT3 RS up for auction from 13 July 2025
Read more
Live: Porsche at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed
The Goodwood Festival of Speed is a thrilling assault on the senses, full of thousands of fascinating cars, displays, famous faces – and the legendary Hillclimb. Follow the Porsche highlights from the weekend’s events here
Read more