The Brisbane-born NBC Sports commentator makes a brief but memorable appearance in F1: The Movie, the Brad Pitt-led Formula 1 blockbuster directed by Top Gun: Maverick’s Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.
Diffey appears on-screen during the film’s dramatic opening sequence at the Daytona 24 Hours, with his unmistakable voice featured throughout the race as Pitt’s character, Sonny Hayes, storms to victory.
Speaking with Speedcafe, Diffey explained the unexpected cameo came about through an old motorsport friend from his Channel 10 days.
“It came about through an old friend in motorsport, a guy called Tim Bampton,” Diffey said.
“A few years ago, he was the head of PR for McLaren Racing – both on the Formula 1 side and the IndyCar side of things.
“I met him through one of my old producers at Channel Ten way back in the day.
“We became mates, hung out for a few years at the races at IndyCar. He then left McLaren Racing, took some time off, and then he rang me out of the blue one day.
“He said, ‘Diff, I’ve got to tell you about this pretty cool new gig that I’ve got — and it also involves you.’”
Bampton had been hired as a consultant on the film, acting as a key liaison between Formula 1 and the Hollywood production team. When the filmmakers needed a real commentator for the Daytona 24 Hours scene — filmed during the actual 2024 race — Bampton only had one name in mind.
“They wanted to know who they should get as a commentator,” Diffey said. “And Tim said, ‘There’s only one guy – Leigh Diffey.’ So I owe it all to Tim.”
With the production crew set up trackside at Daytona, Diffey was quickly immersed in the world of big-budget filmmaking.
Producers wanted the scene to feel as authentic as possible, which meant capturing real commentary during the live broadcast.
“They asked for my commentator schedule, because we have two teams that rotate on and off throughout the race,” he explained.
“I came off at midnight, and they literally built a copycat booth right alongside our NBC one.
“It was a vacant corporate suite, and during commercial breaks, we were looking over and watching the crew just feverishly build this thing.”
As soon as Diffey’s shift wrapped up, he crossed the hall — still in his tie and sports coat — and walked onto the film set.
Waiting for him was director Joseph Kosinski, who had already met with Diffey on Zoom to walk through the setup and ensure everything was as realistic as possible.
“To live the experience of ‘Quiet on set… action!’ — that was pretty cool,” Diffey said.
“That was stuff we all pretend and we wish we could be a part of and to do it for real, that was really neat.”
Kosinski even delayed filming to wait for green flag racing on track, wanting the background motion through the windows to feel genuine.
“When we first got ready to go, there was a caution,” Diffey said. “So he said, ‘Everybody take five.’ He purposely waited until there was racing on track.
“There’s a sweeping shot that comes past me on my left-hand side, but even to be able to look out of the glass windows at the front and to see cars actually racing on track, that’s what he wanted to capture.
“Even though it’s a really quick shot, that’s how his attention to detail was at that level.”
Despite the bright lights, cameras, and film crew, Diffey said it felt surprisingly natural to slip back into commentator mode, even if the lines weren’t all his own.
“You’re very aware of how many people are around you, where the famous Hollywood director is,” he said. “But I could block that out.
“It was 75 percent natural. Some of the lines were ones I wouldn’t necessarily say, there was a funny one: ‘Looks like Sonny Hayes left his brakes at home!’ I wouldn’t say that,” he laughed. “But it was good.”
Diffey was also invited to walk the red carpet at the film’s New York premiere with his wife, but a travel setback meant he missed the big moment.
“That weekend I was in Le Mans, so I had arranged to meet my wife there. I was so excited about it, he said.
“On the way back from Le Mans, my flight got cancelled, so I didn’t get to go to the worldwide premiere.
“My wife went, but she didn’t walk the red carpet, she was too shy. She said it was pretty cool though, she was sitting near all the superstars and had a great time.”
Eventually, Diffey got his own premiere of sorts — this time with his family by his side.
“I had to wait till just last week to watch it,” he said.
“But that was also good because my mum arrived from Australia and our two sons, the five of us went to our local movie theatre and we watched it.
“That was really special to share that with my whole family.”
Reflecting on the final product — which has already grossed more than $600 million AUD worldwide — Diffey said he was impressed with how the film captured the sport he’s spent much of his life calling.
“Of course there are elements of Hollywood to it, it’s a Hollywood movie, but I was really impressed, sometimes blown away, by the authenticity of it and the camera angles,” he said.
“They just did a really great job.”
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