Brad Pitt’s F1 movie title revealed by Apple: ‘I���m super excited’

Brad Pitt’s F1 movie title revealed by Apple: ‘I’m super excited’
By Luke Smith
Jul 5, 2024

Apple, Formula One and Warner Bros. have announced that their upcoming movie starring Brad Pitt and co-produced by Lewis Hamilton will be called “F1.”

The film is due for release on June 25, 2025, with the first teaser of the movie arriving this Sunday, July 7.

F1 has been in production for over a year, with Top Gun: Maverick director Joe Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer working together on the project.

Advertisement

Hamilton has been deeply involved in all aspects of the film, including scriptwriting, aiming to make it the most authentic racing movie ever made.

The F1 paddock welcomed the production of F1, featuring a full garage set-up for the fictional APXGP team during last year’s British Grand Prix, with filming occurring at multiple events.

This has included scenes being filmed in the paddock and on the grid through the live grand prix race weekend, featuring the same drivers and teams from the real-life sport.

While filming was delayed by last year’s actors’ and writers’ strike in the United States, it has allowed for additional scenes and filming to take place at events through the 2024 season, as well as the Rolex 24 at Daytona sportscar race back in January.

Pitt and Damson Idris are on-site for this weekend’s British Grand Prix, where APXGP has, for the first time, a full hospitality unit alongside teams such as Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes in the F1 paddock.

Pitt will play Sonny Hayes, a veteran racer who teams up with Joshua Pearce, who will be played by British actor Idris. Javier Bardem will star as the team boss of APXGP, and was on site for multiple races last year filming scenes.

Both Pitt and Idris have driven racing cars as part of the filming, with a bespoke vehicle based off a Formula Two chassis being created for the APXGP team.

go-deeper

GO DEEPER

What we know about Brad Pitt, Lewis Hamilton's F1 movie filming at Silverstone

“I’m super excited,” Idris told The Athletic at a sponsor event ahead of the British Grand Prix.

“We started filming this last year, and the actors’ strike kind of put a halt. But I would say the strike kind of made the movie even better, the script got better.

“We were able to get even greater footage, and I think when people finally see this film, they’re going to be really proud of what we’ve done.”

Advertisement

Kosinski and Bruckheimer have used much of the same camera technology that was used on Top Gun: Maverick, with an array of camera positions on the cars. They are also going to be using authentic F1 broadcast angles, as well as using CGI to put the APXGP cars into race footage from the 2023 season.

In May, reports emerged suggesting the budget for F1 had swelled beyond $300million, which would make it one of the most expensive movies ever made. This was denied by Hamilton, who called the reports “inaccurate” and “incorrect.”

Filming for F1 is set to continue at a number of further grands prix through the 2024 season ahead of the release next year.

go-deeper

GO DEEPER

On set for Apple's F1 movie: How Brad Pitt's faux team fit into the British GP

(Formula One)

Get all-access to exclusive stories.

Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Try a week on us.

Luke Smith

Luke Smith is a Senior Writer covering Formula 1 for The Athletic. Luke has spent 10 years reporting on Formula 1 for outlets including Autosport, The New York Times and NBC Sports, and is also a published author. He is a graduate of University College London. Follow Luke on Twitter @LukeSmithF1