How Ed Sheeran’s F1 Experience Influenced “Drive” For ‘F1: The Movie’

Ed Sheeran has been a fan of Formula 1 since watching Netflix’s Formula 1 documentary, Drive to Survive. He’s gotten to know many of the drivers and teams on the race circuit and has even performed at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix. He practically knows everyone on all the teams, which is why he hesitates briefly to reveal his favorite team.

“I don’t want to piss anyone off,” Sheeran laughs during the F1: The Movie press day. “But I think McLaren. Not just because they’re doing well, but [because] I have a mate who is basically part of the ownership of them. They sent me a driver’s jacket a while ago. I guess that’s the way they hook you in.”

The Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter became hooked on F1 even further by contributing to the title track for Apple Studios’s F1: The Movie. The song “Drive” is what Sheeran calls “a pure dream team for the genre of rock,” working with producing and writing partners Blake Slatkin and John Mayer, and featuring Mayer on guitar alongside bassist Pino Palladino, and Foo Fighters’ keyboardist Rami Jaffee and Dave Grohl on drums. With the all-star rock lineup, Sheeran describes it as “good pressure” to keep him on his “A-game.”

Directed by Joseph Kosinski, produced by the great Jerry Bruckheimer, and starring Brad Pitt, F1: The Movie has a lot of heavy hitters involved in the film. It’s no surprise that it grossed $189.5 million in North America and $631.4 million worldwide, becoming a box-office hit.

The film’s soundtrack, executive produced by Kosinski and Bruckheimer and music supervised by David Taylor and Jake Voulgarides, features global superstars including Sheeran, Doja Cat, Rosé, Chris Stapleton, Roddy Rich, Myke Towers, Tate McRae, Burna Boy, and RAYE. It has been nominated for a Grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media.

“Drive” was ranked as the best song from the soundtrack by Billboard, and debuted at No. 26 on the Official Singles Download Chart, No. 31 on the Official Singles Sales ranking, and peaked at number 49 on the UK Singles Chart.

“It was amazing being involved,” says Sheeran. “You’re involved in two massive things at once because Formula 1 is such a huge entity. But F1: The Movie, the amount of work they were putting into that, and they were genuinely racing cars. Brad Pitt was learning how to do it, and the Jerry Bruckheimer-ness and Apple. It’s just two huge entities meeting.”

Ever since Sheeran’s contribution to the soundtrack of Peter Jackson’s 2013 film The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, he has often been requested to work on the soundtracks of many other films. However, most have been soft medleys or romantic in nature.

With F1: The Movie, he was asked to create a guitar riff rock song – a genre he’s always wanted to play with. He wrote the first version of the riff and sent it to Slatkin, who sent a voice note saying it needed Sheeran to add the lyrics to the chorus, “Pedal Down and Drive.”

“So there were a few iterations where notes were put in, and lyrics were tweaked,” Sheeran shares. “I’d say maybe three or four versions of the song that were similar. And they were different. There was a version where John did some different chords after the first chorus. It didn’t go straight back into the riff. So, yeah, there were a few iterations.”

With all the other pop artists on the soundtrack, Sheeran was determined to keep the song purely rock-based. He explains, “There’s Doja Cat and Dom Toliver’s song. There’s a Tate McRae song. There are pop moments on that soundtrack. I wanted to do something a little bit different to stand out from that.”

Since the song is centered on Formula 1 and the thrill of driving, Sheeran says his drive with F1 driver George Russell last year did help hone in that speed-like feeling. He laughs, recalling his experience at last year’s Miami Grand Prix.

“Your stomach sort of leaves you in that situation,” he smiles. “It just goes back. Do you know what? Yes, it would help. I would say the movie itself gives you a similar feeling when you’re watching it. It’s a similar feeling to being in the car with George Russell. It’s quite an intense watch.”

F1: The Movie is out in theaters everywhere. It will be available to stream on Apple TV on December 12.