Tom Cruise Starring in F1 Would've Scared The Crew - "Tom ‘Terrifies Me" and "We’d Have Had a Crash"

Imagine F1 with Tom Cruise behind the wheel instead of Brad Pitt. That thought alone was enough to make director Joseph Kosinski and action supervisor Graham Kelly collectively wince, then laugh, during a recent GQ interview. And not because Cruise isn’t capable. It’s because he’s so capable that things might’ve gone sideways.

Kosinski, who directed Top Gun: Maverick and is currently helming F1, was asked what it might’ve been like if Cruise had taken the lead role instead of Pitt. His answer?

“Tom always pushes it to the limit, but at the same time is super capable and very skilled. They both have the natural talent for driving. But yeah, I could see Tom maybe scaring us a little bit more.”

You could call that the understatement of the year. Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer started work on F1 right after Top Gun: Maverick, bringing several crew members with them, including action-vehicle supervisor Graham Kelly, who’s no stranger to the chaos Cruise brings with him.

Kelly backed up Kosinski’s sentiment with a grim chuckle, saying:

“We’d have had a crash. Tom pushes it to the limit. I mean really to the limit. That terrifies me. I mean, I’ve done loads of ‘Mission: Impossibles’ with Tom and it’s the most stressful experience for someone like me building cars for him, doing stunts with him.

“Whereas Brad listens and he knows his abilities, and I think he’d be the first to say, ‘Yeah, I’m not going to do that.’”

In other words: Brad brings calm; Tom brings chaos and cinematic magic, sure… but also chaos.

What makes this even more interesting is that Kosinski nearly made a racing movie with both actors long before F1 came together. Years ago, the director had a Ford v Ferrari project in development with Cruise and Pitt both attached.

They wanted to do their own driving (obviously), but the project never got off the ground due to budget concerns. That film eventually landed in the capable hands of James Mangold, starring Christian Bale and Matt Damon.

So now we’ve got Cruise in Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, which just opened to a franchise-best $200 million global debut, and Pitt in F1, which hits theaters June 27.

While Cruise has the need for speed locked down, maybe it’s for the best that this time, he’s watching from the sidelines. Or at least not actively terrifying the stunt team. But, he is working on a Days of Thunder sequel, so he’ll be eventually be jumping into some car racing action, and there’s no doubt that he’s going to push the limits.