Max Verstappen refused to be in scene with Brad Pitt in new Formula 1 film

The Dutchman also skipped its world premiere

Titled F1: The Movie - its working title of Apex should've stayed in our opinion - the film meshes together fictional characters (Damson Idris as Joshua Pearce and Pitt as Sonny Hayes) with the drivers of the 2023/24 seasons, including Mercedes' George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, and McLaren's Lando Norris.

But despite cameoing alongside his paddock rivals, The Telegraph has revealed that Red Bull whizz Verstappen didn't want any involvement in one particular scrapped sequence, and even declined invitations to attend special screenings of the film in Monaco and New York City.

Asked by Planet F1 why he skipped the glitzy events, the Dutchman explained: "I wanted to spend more private time – because it is private time at the end of the day, the evening also.

"I think it's coming out on June 27 [in the US] so I'll download it on Apple [TV+].

"There was the opportunity to watch it, but if I watch it now or in three or four weeks, that's fine as well. I heard good stuff from the movie, so I'm sure that it's going to be exciting," he added.

Elsewhere, fellow F1 driver Pierre Gasly, who represents Alpine on the track, encouraged Verstappen to watch the film during a recent press conference.

"I just wanted to tell Max: they show you winning the race at some point, so you definitely should watch it. You're going to enjoy that!" he said, alluding to Verstappen's clinching of the world championship.

"Personally, I really, really enjoyed it. I think we've already made a lot of comments about the movie, so I don't want to expand too much. But it's cool and really looking forward to seeing what the people think about it."