Brad Pitt’s F1 film feels the need... the need for speed

A case of Top Gun for the race tracks? That seems to be the prospect, as more details have emerged about the new Formula 1 movie starring Brad Pitt.

A teaser for the film, titled simply F1, was released around the time of the British Grand Prix, at which further filming took place this year following the high-profile shoot at Silverstone during the 2023 race weekend. The movie is set for release in June 2025.

As the teaser hints, Pitt takes the lead role of Sonny Hayes, a retired and ageing F1 driver now racing away from the pinnacle following a big accident in his distant past. Reality is stretched by his apparent re-hiring at 50 – Pitt is actually 60, but looks younger – by back-of-the-grid team APXGP. Damson Idris plays his team-mate Joshua Pearce, with former Bond villain Javier Bardem as their team boss.

Why the Top Gun parallel? F1 is being made by the same team behind the popular jet-fighter movies. Director Joseph Kosinski was nominated for an Oscar for Top Gun: Maverick, while Hollywood big-hitter Jerry Bruckheimer has motor sport movie form. Along with Top Gun, he was behind Tom Cruise’s NASCAR flick Days of Thunder.

Fully endorsed by F1, the teaser highlights how the movie will feature real-life team names and current drivers, and is a collaboration between Apple Studios and Lewis Hamilton’s own production company, Dawn Apollo Films. Hamilton is a producer and will likely feature, playing himself.

“Joe is an incredible director,” said Hamilton. “You already saw what he’s done with fighter jets and dogfights. Bringing that technology and that viewpoint into our world is going to be amazing.”