🎬 Why Apple Built a Custom Camera

Traditional onboard broadcast cameras in F1 cars were designed for live TV — low resolution, fixed codecs, and color spaces unsuited for cinematic storytelling. Apple needed footage that met feature‑film standards without compromising car safety or aerodynamics.

The new camera needed to match the exact shape, size, and weight of existing F1 broadcast modules to avoid affecting the car's performance 10.

📰 Why Apple Built a Custom Camera for the F1 Movie

Apple built a custom camera system using iPhone hardware to meet the unique demands of shooting high-speed, real-world Formula 1 racing scenes for its upcoming movie starring Brad Pitt. Traditional F1 onboard cameras are optimized for live TV broadcast — not for cinematic quality. Their limited resolution, dynamic range, and compression formats wouldn’t meet the standards needed for a feature film.

To bridge this gap, Apple created a compact camera module containing the same sensor and chip as the iPhone 15 Pro, enclosed in a housing that matched the exact shape, size, and weight of standard F1 broadcast cameras. This ensured no impact on car performance or aerodynamics. The camera was also ruggedized to withstand the intense heat, G-forces, and vibration of F1 racing.

More importantly, the system could shoot in ProRes Log format, giving filmmakers the flat, high-dynamic-range footage required for color grading in professional cinema. With manual control via a connected iPad app, filmmakers could tweak exposure, white balance, and frame rate—something traditional F1 cams couldn’t do.

This innovation allowed Apple to create immersive, driver-perspective shots inside actual Grand Prix events—something no smartphone or traditional film crew could previously achieve—blending the worlds of mobile tech and big-screen storytelling like never before.