Kerry Condon (F1) F1

Kerry Condon plays Kate McKenna, APXGP's technical director — the engineer who builds the "combat" upgrade that gets disqualified after the FIA confirms forged documents, convenes the post-Spa team meeting that defuses the driver feud, and becomes Sonny Hayes's romantic partner.b19 b24 b26 b291 Condon won the IFTA Film & Drama Award for Best Supporting Actress for the role.2

Condon studied with real F1 strategist Bernie Collins and went to Barcelona to experience a live race

Condon prepared for the role by meeting real engineers and attending a Formula One race in Barcelona. She was introduced to Bernie Collins, a real-life strategist, to understand the technical director role from the inside.

"I can change a tire, I'm a great driver." — Kerry Condon, Deadline (2025)

"Physics and maths were my worst subjects in school." — Kerry Condon, Deadline (2025)

"It's very technical and it's not something I'd be good at in real life." — Kerry Condon, Deadline (2025)

Filming at live Grand Prix weekends meant no second chances

The production's embedding inside real race weekends gave Condon a theatrical edge she had not expected. Kosinski warned her that the live environment would demand a stage actor's readiness.

"We were a guest of Formula One, and we were a film crew infiltrating their actual job." — Kerry Condon, Deadline (2025)

"Your theater background will help, because there's a live aspect to this." — Kerry Condon, quoting Joseph Kosinski, Deadline (2025)

"You've got to be ready. There's nobody waiting for you." — Kerry Condon, Deadline (2025)

"I kind of loved the non-princessy vibe." — Kerry Condon, Deadline (2025)

The confrontation scene with Pitt grew more intense with each take

One of Condon's key scenes — Kate confronting Sonny early in the film — was shot early in production. Condon described the escalating intensity across multiple takes.

"The more takes we did, the meaner I got." — Kerry Condon, Deadline (2025)

"I could get recast if I don't do this good." — Kerry Condon, Deadline (2025)

Kate McKenna is the team's intellectual center and emotional axis

Kate occupies a unique structural position in the film. She is the only character who operates on all three levels of APXGP's story: the engineering level (building the car that makes the team competitive), the interpersonal level (convening the team meeting that forces the drivers to communicate), and the romantic level (becoming Sonny's partner).b19 b24 b26 Her "combat" upgrade decision at beat 19 marks the team's commitment to building the car for combat after the Monza penalty.b193

"Kerry Condon's character arc — discovering herself through connection rather than being 'discovered' — receives particular attention." — Sam Adams, Slate (2025)

  1. NEEDS CITATION — flagged by /cite-to-backbeats on 2026-05-09. IFTA Best Supporting Actress award for Condon needs an external source (IFTA, IMDb, trade press). ↩

  2. NEEDS DELETION — flagged by /cite-to-backbeats on 2026-05-09. Original described Kate as organizing "the poker game that defuses the driver feud." Beats 24-25 establish that Kate convenes the team meeting in a hotel suite ("It's my team meeting, we're gonna do it my way") and the poker game happens within / adjacent; the "Kate organizes the poker game" framing leans on a detail not directly established in the beats. Replaced with "convenes the post-Spa team meeting" in place. ↩

  3. NEEDS DELETION — flagged by /cite-to-backbeats on 2026-05-09. Original: "Her 'combat upgrade' speech in beat 20 marks the shift from Sonny as lone wolf to Sonny as team leader." The combat upgrade decision is at beat 19 (post-Monza penalty), and beat 20 is solo Sonny scoring across recovery races. Beat number corrected; the "marks the shift to Sonny as team leader" framing also overstates b19's function (Spa/Midpoint b22-23 is the actual lone-wolf-to-team turn). Replaced in place. ↩

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