“Bridgerton” star Simone Ashley has joined the cast of “F1,” the Formula 1 racing movie starring Brad Pitt.
The movie follows Pitt as Sonny Hayes, a former Formula 1 driver who returns to the sport and partners with and mentors rookie Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris) on APXGP, a fictional 11th team on the grid.
Eagle-eyed fans spotted Ashley with Idris over the weekend at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit in Northampton, England, where filming continued on the project. Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem, Tobias Menzies, Sarah Niles and Samson Kayo round out the cast for the film, which is being shot during actual Grand Prix weekends as the fictional team competes against the titans of the sport. Details of Ashley’s role are being kept under wraps. The first teaser for “F1” was released Sunday in conjunction with the race, which the film’s co-producer, seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, won.
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Directed by “Top Gun: Maverick” helmer Joseph Kosinski, “F1” is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman (for Jerry Bruckheimer Films); Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner (for Plan B Entertainment); and Hamilton (for Dawn Apollo Films). The Apple Studios movie is made in collaboration with Formula 1. Ehren Kruger, who worked with Kosinski on “Top Gun: Maverick,” wrote the screenplay. Copper CEO Penni Thow serves as executive producer.
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“F1” will be distributed in theaters and IMAX by Warner Bros. Pictures internationally on June 25, 2025, and in North America on June 27, 2025.
The high-speed film is the latest major move for Ashley, who is best known for starring as Kate Sharma on “Bridgerton” — whose love story with Jonathan Bailey’s Anthony Bridgerton was the primary focus of Season 2 — and Olivia on “Sex Education.” Next up, she stars in the psychological thriller “This Tempting Madness” and will executive produce and star in the rom-com “Picture This” for Prime Video.
“I have always been very ambitious, ever since I was a kid, but no matter what I do, a small indie project or big studio production, I want to make sure it’s something I am proud of. That there is an urgency for this story to be told,” Ashley said while accepting the International Golden Nymph award for most promising talent at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival last month.
About stepping behind the camera, she added: “The more experience I have, the more I am learning that producing your own work can really change things. You can tell stories that otherwise would never see the light of day.”
Ashley is repped by CAA, Brillstein Entertainment and Myman Greenspan.