MONACO -- Reigning world champion Max Verstappen opted not to join his fellow Formula 1 drivers at a private screening of the new Brad Pitt movie about the sport this week.
'F1', produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, is set for release on June 25 internationally and June 27 in the U.S.
The movie follows Pitt's character Sonny Hayes making a late-career return to the sport to help ailing fictional team APXGP.
While Hamilton was joined by a large group of drivers on Wednesday in Monte Carlo to watch the film in full, it was quickly noted on social media that Verstappen was not in attendance.
"I told FOM [Formula 1 management] way in advance that I would not be there that evening. They knew about that," Verstappen said about skipping the screening when asked during media day for Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix.
Verstappen and girlfriend Kelly Piquet welcomed their first daughter, Lily, into the world at the start of May.
"I just wanted to spend more time at home," the Dutchman added. "It wasn't a mandatory event either, it was just my private time. And I prefer to spend that private time at home, especially because in Formula 1 you're away from home so much already.
"Wanting to spend more time at home on days like that, is pretty normal, I think. Now that the family is growing, then I definitely prefer to spend more time at home."
Footage did also circulate on social media of Verstappen streaming an online race that evening.
Aston Martin's Lance Stroll, the only other driver of the current 20 to miss the event, was less forthcoming about why he was not there.
"Just stuff," the Canadian said about why he missed it. "At some point I'll watch it."
The rest of the grid joined Hamilton, who worked in an advisory role from the early stages.
Hamilton is listed as a producer on the project and the logo of his new production company, Dawn Apollo, will feature before the movie starts.
Asked what he made of seeing the film, Hamilton joked: "Firstly it wasn't the first time I've seen it. I've seen it like 20 times already."
The Ferrari driver was apprehensive about what his fellow drivers would think of it.
"I've got all the drivers there and I was sat in the middle, I was nervous! I was like 'oh God, everyone seeing it for the first time', and it was great to look around and see some of the reactions from, particularly the drivers. I really care what the drivers think.
"I wanted them to think highly of it and I mentioned them afterwards you know, like, [I] welcome your honest opinions about it because for sure there's there's parts you'd be like 'hey the timing may be off on on a strategy stop' or whatever it might be but I think the great thing is the sound is great, the image is incredible. It's something that has never been done before so something I'm really proud of."
The buzz about the movie during media day was overwhelmingly positive.
Hamilton's old rival Fernando Alonso said: "It was good. I like the movie, and I think it represents quite well the Formula 1 part of it, and the sportive part of it, which is never a guarantee on these kind of movies. If everything is fake or you don't feel that represents well what you do, but I think they kept that quite good."
Alpine's Esteban Ocon said Hamilton's input has been invaluable in making the movie feel authentic.
"I really see where Lewis has put his touch to try and make everything as realistic as possible," he said.
The movie features scenes where Pitt and co-star Damson Idris, who plays Hayes' teammate, drove modified Formula 2 cars around real-life circuits.
Both drivers took part in the formation lap ahead of the British Grand Prix in 2023 as part of the filming process.
Ocon added: "The scenes with them driving the cars and I think that's fantastic, something we've never seen before".
F1 has been keen to stress that the movie will include some creative licence at certain points, which had led to concerns over how close to the real thing it will be.
When asked if there were any moments which made him wince, Carlos Sainz said: "There were just a couple of icks, but honestly, not as many as I thought. They warned us also. They said, 'guys, we love your sport. We are in love with your sport. But this is Hollywood'. I was like, OK."
Sainz believes the film will be received well by moviegoers.
"I truly enjoyed it," the Spaniard said. "I think for us F1 experts, we're going to see things a bit like we sometimes see with Netflix [Drive to Survive]. You can tell they're a bit Hollywood-esque. I truly believe that for a new fan, it will attract a lot of new audience. It will do very well for the people that don't know anything about F1. For the hardcore fan and for journalists and us, we will see things that maybe you think is a bit too American or a bit too Hollywood.
"But honestly, I enjoyed the whole thing. There were things that really surprised me. The team have done an outstanding job in putting together, I think, a very good Hollywood movie. But let's see what the people think."