Joseph Kosinski's motorsport epic "F1," starring Brad Pitt, sped into pole position at the U.K. and Ireland box office, debuting with £7 million ($9.7 million), according to Comscore. Released by Warner Bros.

Javier Bardem, who plays Ruben Cervantes, points out Idris and Pitt likely felt more pressure filming during the live races in front of hundreds of thousands of people. But he says the crew’s “work” wasn’t lost on him.

"F1 The Movie" filmed an important opening scene at one of America's iconic racing locales — but not without some compromise