Revisited: Movie star feuds with F1 CEO

The new F1 movie starring Brad Pitt is just a handful of months away from being released, having been in production for a handful of years.

The production was embedded into the F1 paddock at a number of races with the sport allowing it to have access to pit garages and on occasion, on-track time in an adjusted Formula 2 car.

The open arms welcome from F1 is a stark contrast to a situation 25 years ago when Sylvester Stallone, best known for playing Rocky Balboa, was attempting to make a movie in the F1 world.

Stallone spent two years travelling to F1 races in an attempt to research and learn about the sport.

However, then-F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone was known to be protective of what could be accessed, a stance he help throughout his tenure at the helm of F1.

But in an interview at the time of the project falling apart, Ecclestone claimed he signed a deal with Stallone in 1997 and was open to the plans before taking issue with the introduction of film lawyers.

He said: "If we didn't have the lawyers and we had Sly [Stallone] as the producer we could be filming by summer."

However, further complications arose and various disagreements caused a rift in the project, leading Stallone to walk away from his plans to make a movie about F1.

“I apologise to fans of Formula 1, but there is a certain individual there who runs the sport that has his own agenda,” he said. 

“F1 is very formal, and it's very hard to get to know people.” 

Instead, he switched attention to CART in the USA to complete the movie, which was eventually released in 2001.

“Here in CART. it is much more open and that will be reflected in the film,” Stallone said. 

“It is extremely important to me that we create a film that accurately depicts the true sense of CART - the emotion, excitement, speed, technology and glamour that is Champ Car racing.”