Kevin Magnussen laughs off ‘bad guy’ role in Brad Pitt’s F1 film — and admits he still hasn’t seen it
Kevin Magnussen has discovered, second-hand, that he’s the on-screen villain to Brad Pitt’s hero in the F1 blockbuster. His response? A grin and a shrug.
“I haven’t watched it,” the former Haas and McLaren man said when told he’s portrayed as “constantly running into” Sonny Hayes, the Pitt-led character at the centre of the film. “But I’ve heard that I’m the bad guy to Brad Pitt, so I think that’s an honour. Honestly, I’m honoured. I might have to watch it at some point.”
It’s the kind of deadpan line that fits Magnussen’s racing persona, because if there’s a driver whose elbows-out reputation was always going to be typecast, it’s him. The Dane bowed out of Formula 1 at the end of 2024 after 185 grand prix starts that began with a dream podium on debut and ended with a rap sheet that, yes, included becoming the first driver banned under the current penalty-points system last season. Uncompromising? Certainly. Unapologetic? Also yes.
The film was shot over multiple race weekends during the final stretch of Magnussen’s F1 career, weaving real paddock access and live-track footage into the story. Those who’ve seen it say Magnussen pops up as one of the hard-nosed foils in Hayes’ orbit — a believable casting for anyone who watched him run wheel-to-wheel in anger.
Since stepping away from the grid, Magnussen has pivoted cleanly into endurance racing, adding long-distance miles to a CV that’s already seen just about everything. He spent last year with BMW machinery across the World Endurance Championship and IMSA, and even tackled the Spa 24 Hours alongside Valentino Rossi and René Rast, coming home 10th in class at the Belgian classic. It’s a move that suits him: big stints, traffic, commitment, and not much patience for dithering.
As for the film itself, awards bodies have at least taken notice of the spectacle. It grabbed a pair of Golden Globes nominations — best original score and the cinematic/box office category — but left Los Angeles empty-handed. No matter; it played to packed houses and gave F1 another splash of Hollywood sheen, which was the point all along.
There’s a neat irony in Magnussen being celebrated for the very traits that made him divisive in the first place. In an era of manicured PR lines and de-fanged radio messages, he drove like the consequences could wait. Sometimes they couldn’t, and the stewards’ ledger reflected that. But he also produced the kind of moments that stick — from that out-of-nowhere Melbourne podium in 2014 to those bursts of wild defiance that made his radio a must-listen.
So if the big screen has frozen him in time as the guy giving the leading man something to worry about in the mirrors, well, it tracks. And if Magnussen is in no hurry to sit down with popcorn and watch himself play the heavy, that tracks too. He never needed validation from anyone, certainly not from Hollywood.
He’ll get around to it eventually. Or he won’t. Either way, he sounds perfectly content with the role.
