DIRECTING AT FULL THROTTLE: INSIDE AN F1 SHOOT AT THE TRACK

Directing at Full Throttle: Inside an F1 Shoot at the Track

There are shoots, and then there are moments that stay with you.

An F1 circuit. The Buddh International Circuit. The return of the RB8 after 13 years. The unmistakable roar of the engine cutting through the air. The sheer speed of the car. And thousands of heads turning left to right in perfect sync within microseconds.

What a sight. What a rush. And what a privilege it was to witness and shape this experience from behind the monitors.

The Scale You Can’t Rehearse For

What you see on screen is only a fraction of what actually unfolds on ground.

The crew was stretched. The track was overwhelming. A 5 km circuit is not just a location, it is a constantly shifting challenge. Movement across that scale introduces variables that no rehearsal can fully prepare you for.

We were prepped. We had done our rehearsals. We had our plans in place.

And yet, as always, the unexpected showed up.

There were multiple hurdles, especially around movement and coordination across the circuit. Some small, some significant, all unavoidable.

What mattered was how we responded.

Bit by bit. Task by task. We kept moving forward.

Orchestrating the Chaos

As the director on set for Frizzon, this was not just about calling shots. It was about holding everything together while it was constantly in motion.

Multiple camera feeds coming in simultaneously. Overlapping communication channels. Cueing operators. Cueing ground teams. Coordinating with the VCARB crew and with Karun Chandhok.

The real challenge was not the number of things happening. It was the intensity at which they were happening, all at once.

In moments like these, your role shifts.

You absorb the chaos so that the system around you can function smoothly. You stay calm when things get loud. You trust your decisions when timelines tighten. And most importantly, you make sure everyone around you believes in the same direction.

Because on a setup like this, alignment is everything.

The Moments That Make It Worth It

And then, there are those few perfect seconds.

When the car hits the track exactly as planned.
When every camera is in place.
When every cue lands.

Those moments make every bit of pressure, every drop of sweat, completely worth it.

It was intense. It was demanding. At times, overwhelming.

But it was also deeply fulfilling.

What We Take Back

At the end of it all, it was not just about delivering a film.

It was about a team coming together and executing at a scale that very few get to experience.

And now, all things said and done, not just me but the entire crew can say this with pride:

We worked on an F1 shoot at an international circuit.

And that is something that will stay.