The F1 movie is an exciting summer blockbuster. Many Formula 1 fans complain the fictional film is unrealistic. While the movie certainly pours a ton of Hollywood flair into the tank, the main character’s tragic backstory may be one of its more realistic aspects. The first frame of the entire movie is a brutal flashback to Brad Pitt’s protagonist’s career-ending crash. While “Sonny Hayes” is made up, the video is real F1 footage borrowed from the tragic crash that ended Martin Donnelly’s F1 career.

[Spoiler alert]. For many moviegoers, the most difficult scene of F1 to watch wasn’t anything that happened in the film’s dramatized version of the 2024 season. That portion of the plot had its fair share of crashes and injuries. But the image seared into most viewers’ brains is the dramatic crash at the 1990 Spanish Grand Prix. Sonny Hayes’ bright yellow Camel Cigarettes Lotus careens off the track. He’s ejected, his body left in the middle of the track—broken, battered, and bent nearly in half. In the movie’s plot, the crash and resulting spinal injuries end his career until his old teammate begs him to drive during the 2024 season.

It was a tidy backstory. The crash left Hayes with a traumatic reason to leave F1 for decades and a dangerous spinal injury he could conceal from his team until the movie’s climax. It also dovetails with real F1 history. The events occur during what many consider F1’s most dangerous era, four years before the death of Ayrton Senna (who is name-dropped in the movie). It even happened at a track where F1 no longer races, so Sonny Hayes doesn’t need to revisit the scene of his accident. It’s the perfect fictional backstory. But it’s not fictional.

The 1990 F1 crash so dramatic, it inspired a movie

The scene of Sonny Hayes’ 1990 crash in the F1 movie is actually historical footage of Martin Donnelly’s crash, when his suspension broke during qualifying at the Spanish Grand Prix. Donnelly is an Irish race car driver. He was a promising rookie with Lotus in 1989, before the 1990 crash in Spain ended his F1 career. But Donnelly wasn’t done. After a long road to recovery he competed in the British Touring Car Championship at 51 years old.

In 2023, Donnelly got a phone call he assumed was spam. But when he picked up he heard, “It’s Lewis Hamilton.” The F1 film’s executive producer wanted to base Sonny Hayes’ backstory on Donnelly’s brutal crash.

The filmmakers even edited some press photos of Donnelly to superimpose a younger Brad Pitt’s face. The two men were born just a year apart, so the timeline works well. But that’s not all—Donnelly flew to set to help out. Pitt chatted with him at length and based parts of Sonny Hayes—such as the superstitious way he climbs into his car—on what Donnelly told him.

They hit it off. Donnelly called Pitt “a really nice guy.” Pitt invited Donnelly to the premiere and made time to hang out with him and his family.