Abhiroop Das
‘F1: The Movie’ chronicles the journey of two race car drivers who stand on opposite ends of the spectrum. While Sonny Hayes is a former Formula One prodigy who retired three decades ago, Joshua Pearce is an upcoming talent, but still struggles with his performance. When the two are tasked with teaming up under the banner of APXGP in the following Formula One season, sparks begin to fly instantly. It is evident that both protagonists have their internal anxieties, which must be resolved in order to create a whole that is bigger than its parts. To that end, Ruben Cervantes, the CEO of APXGP, takes on a key role in navigating their dynamic and finding a way to bring the duo together. He has his own motivations at play, and all his efforts seem directed to making his dream a reality. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Ruben Cervantes is a Fictional Team Owner Modelled After Real-Life Counterparts
Ruben Cervantes is a fictional character created by writers Ehren Kruger and Joseph Kosinski with the express purpose of serving the narrative. However, there are some vague sources of inspiration that inform the character, particularly actor Javier Bardem’s portrayal of him. In order to research for his role, Bardem watched some documentaries like ‘Drive to Survive,’ which pulled him into the world of racing. This was only amplified when he began interacting with many real-life team principals and owners, such as Toto Wolff, the principal of Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team, as well as Christian Horner, the former CEO of Red Bull’s Formula One Team. He compared these team principals to movie stars, in large part due to their charismatic nature and sense of responsibility.
In an interview with Formula 1, Bardem expressed: “Toto Wolff is full of inner energy, and the way he confidently and intently leads the team is a completely unique approach.” He continued, speaking about the real-time experience he had gained with Toto, “It was very interesting for me to communicate with him, listen to him, participate in a dialogue with him – just to understand how he lives and feels, because in the world of motorsport Everyone is always under tremendous pressure (…) these are the qualities I tried to give Ruben.” In a separate article with GQ, Bardem went deeper into the nitty-gritty of his experience studying team leaders. He talked about the emotional element that motivated these figures and their actions outside of the business realm, as well as how human their reaction to loss could be. Additionally, he pointed out the importance of absorbing that humanity within them as a part of his role in ‘F1: The Movie.’
Ruben’s Character is Enriched by the Filming Approach of F1: The Movie
While Toto Wolff stands out as the primary inspiration for Bardem’s character, there are potentially other figures in the motorsport industry that have some parallels to Ruben. In particular, his unique blend of tactical and intuitive decision-making broadly resembles the former driver and present CEO of McLaren Racing, Zak Brown. Notably, Zak Brown has been credited with transforming McLaren’s racing team into a powerhouse, which lines up with Ruben’s series of plans to strengthen his team piece by piece. This comparison gains more credence when it is taken into account that McLaren’s Headquarters, located in Woking, England, was featured in ‘F1: The Movie’ as the base of operations for Ruben’s company, APXGP. Thus, there are definitely points of commonality between the two, which reiterates the idea that Ruben’s character serves as a composite of many team leaders of note.
Notably, the fictional racing team, APXGP, was taped in real-life Grand Prix events, with the crew often having only a single chance to capture the perfect shot. In particular, 2023’s British Grand Prix became the backdrop for Bardem’s first day of filming, and the actor had to match the intensity of the scene with his performance. From there, he gradually found his footing in the role, making use of the realism on display to make the most out of his character. Director Kosinski spoke to GQ about his experience working with Bardem, noting, “nothing could have prepared any of us for one of the very last shots in Abu Dhabi where we had only one take to get it right. I don’t want to spoil it, but I think you will know it when you see it. It’s my favourite shot of Javier from the film and shows why he is one of the best performers working today.”
Read More: Is APXGP Based on a Real F1 Racing Team?
You must be logged in to post a comment.