Songwriters Ed Sheeran and Blake Slatkin Share Their Journey of Blending Storytelling with Uplifting Rock in ‘Drive’ for F1
Songwriters Ed Sheeran and Blake Slatkin were thrilled when approached to create a track for the upcoming film F1, aiming to encapsulate the movie’s energetic essence.
“Jerry [Bruckheimer] and Joe [Kosinski] had us over to his office, and we saw it on the full screen, and we got the adrenaline you get when you see that movie,” Slatkin recalls. “It’s like you feel insane the entire time, you feel like you’re a part of the movie… We just wanted to make a song that gives us that same feeling as the movie.”
The resulting song, titled “Drive,” was named early in the creative process, as Sheeran noted, “you can’t make a song for an F1 film and not mention the pedal to the metal aspect to it.” Positioned to play during the film’s end credits, both Sheeran and Slatkin aimed to carry the film’s high energy through to the conclusion.
“I think very much we wanted it to be high octane, high energy – both vocally and musically – and guitar-riff based,” Sheeran explained.
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Slatkin expressed the unique experience of creating music for film, stating, “It’s so cool to make music for a film because it’s a whole new area of inspiration, and you’re making music not for you but to serve the movie.” He added that this song allowed Sheeran to explore musical avenues outside of his typical albums.
“It had to reflect Sonny’s journey throughout the film, but also be celebratory of the end of the movie,” Sheeran said. “The verses are very much the narration of the story… and the chorus is just a kind of uplifting, euphoric rock moment.”
As avid music fans themselves, Sheeran and Slatkin took the opportunity to assemble their dream band for “Drive.” “When you’re doing something as cool as making the music for the F1 movie, it affords you some cool calls,” Slatkin noted. The track features John Mayer on guitar, Dave Grohl on drums, and Pino Palladino on bass, among others. “The day we recorded it, we did everything live, and it was just Dave, John and Pino in a room. Just three of some of the best musicians in the world doing what they do best.”
