Exxon Mobil's Hard-Hitting ‘Boxers’ Brings F1 Racing G-Force to Life

This season sees the second year of the technology partnership between Mobil 1 and the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing F1 team.

F1 is one of the most ruthless sports in the world, in which drivers experience unbelievable forces of up to 5G and speeds of over 375 km/h.

‘Boxers’ tells the story of the extreme forces that Aston Martin Red Bull racing driver Max Verstappen endures in every race.

In the film, Verstappen literally faces down 124 heavyweight boxers to demonstrate the relentless g-forces he experiences on the track. It’s followed by an apology from Mobil 1 for delivering engine performance that will make his job even more extreme.

The film was written and art directed by AMV BBDO’s Andy Clough & Richard McGrann, and directed by Cannes Grand Prix Winning Jones & Tino through Stink Films.

The effects were filmed in camera with 124 heavyweight boxers, punching in unison, choreographed to the soundtrack of Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana, better known as the soundtrack to Scorsese’s “Raging Bull”.

The film opens on Max Verstappen in his racing overalls in a black space before revealing that he’s facing up to over a hundred heavyweight boxers.

The boxers are lined up in formation in the shape of a racing track. We see Max put on his racing helmet and put on his gloves in preparation before stepping forward towards the boxers. Unfazed, Max pulls down the visor of his helmet.

A ripple of force flows through the boxer formation like a wave in perfect unison that ends with a single, simultaneous punch. Max is knocked to the ground. As he stands up another ripple of force ends with another simultaneous punch knocking Max to the floor. The sound of the boxers is amplified with the noise of F1 racing. This force flows through the boxer formation in pulses, resulting in a punch after punch, with Max getting up every time, like a true professional.

A title appears that reads, 'F1 drivers feel g-forces similar to 124 heavyweight punches’. The punches continue until we see a title that reads ‘Now Mobil 1 is making Aston Martin Red Bull Racing more powerful’.

Finally, we see a punch land which knocks Max’s head to one side spectacularly, but instead of falling, we match cut the motion to see Max racing in the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing F1 car, revealing that the boxing action we have been witnessing is a metaphor of the forces he experiences when driving.

A title appears that reads, ‘Sorry Max’, a lighthearted apology from Mobil 1 for causing the forces Max feels during the race. The film ends with the campaign line, ‘Energy to Perform’.