Brad Pitt F1 movie: An insider’s complete guide to the F1 film

Elizabeth Blackstock
Brad Pitt F1 movie insider guide PlanetF1

Everything you need to know about Brad Pitt's upcoming F1 movie.

F1: The Movie starring Brad Pitt as a fictional Formula 1 driver named Sonny Hayes has officially hit theaters.

It’s anticipated to be one of the biggest blockbusters of the summer — but if you’re a Formula 1 fan looking to get up to speed, we have all the insider details from the paddock here in one place.

When will the Brad Pitt F1 movie be released?

The Brad Pitt F1 movie was released in the UK and internationally on June 25, 2025. It will then release in the US and Canada on June 27, 2025.

Early screenings and online tickets are also now available. Fans who view the film at a Regal theater will also be able to purchase a popcorn bucket shaped just like Sonny Hayes’ racing helmet!

Brad Pitt F1 movie: Which drivers are in it?

Because F1 was filmed at a variety of Formula 1 races around the world, all of the drivers from the 2023 Formula 1 grid will make some kind of appearance, large or small.

For reference, the drivers on the grid at that time were:

  • Max Verstappen
  • Sergio Perez
  • Lewis Hamilton
  • George Russell
  • Carlos Sainz
  • Charles Leclerc
  • Fernando Alonso
  • Lance Stroll
  • Pierre Gasly
  • Esteban Ocon
  • Kevin Magnussen
  • Nico Hulkenberg
  • Lando Norris
  • Oscar Piastri
  • Logan Sargeant
  • Alex Albon
  • Zhou Guanyu
  • Valtteri Bottas
  • Yuki Tsunoda
  • Nyck de Vries
  • Daniel Ricciardo
  • Liam Lawson.

Footage from 2024 can also include Jack Doohan, Oliver Bearman, and Franco Colapinto.

That being said, some drivers play a bigger role than others.

  • Lewis Hamilton is a producer of the F1 film, and one of the major plot points at the end of the film involves APXGP drivers Pearce and Hayes challenging Hamilton for a win.
  • Fernando Alonso makes an appearance in the media pen patting Sonny Hayes on the back.
  • Team bosses Guenther Steiner, Fred Vasseur, Zak Brown, and Toto Wolff all have speaking roles — though in the case of Steiner, it’s more about speaking with facial expressions!
  • Kevin Magnussen and Esteban Ocon are mentioned several times, as APXGP drivers make contact with him a few times during the film.
  • Charles Leclerc is pictured several times, and the final storyline centers around challenging him for position.

 

Which tracks are in it?

F1 was filmed live at several Formula 1 tracks on the calendar including:

  • The Hungaroring in Mogyorod, Hungary
  • Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, UK
  • The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Mexico
  • The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Stavelot, Belgium
  • The Las Vegas Strip circuit in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
  • The Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Monza, Italy
  • Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Japan
  • The Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, UAE
  • Circuit Zandvoort in Zandvoort, Netherlands.

A series of scenes was also filmed at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, as well as at Pismo Beach as part of a Baja 1000 sequence.

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Which teams are in it?

All ten Formula 1 teams — Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren, Alpine, Aston Martin, Haas, Williams, Sauber, and Racing Bulls — appear in the F1 movie thanks to the film being shot during live Grands Prix. However, the exact role of each team varies; some teams are mentioned by name, while others are simply shown during overhead shots of the field.

In much the same way that we can expect to see plenty of Lewis Hamilton thanks to his role as a producer, we will also likely see quite a bit of Mercedes.

Speaking to Deadline, director Joseph Kosinski noted that Toto Wolff was closely involved in the film, particularly as it pertained to helping the crew understand how to best approximate the feel of driving a Formula 1 machine; it was Wolff who suggested the crew use a Formula 2 chassis modified to look like an F1 car to film the on-track scenes.

Kosinski said, “We worked closely with Mercedes and their design team and aerodynamicists to develop a custom body that resembles the latest generation Formula 1 car.”

Using the F1 trailers as our guide, we are also able to see clips of Pitt battling with Red Bull Racing and Alpine on the track at Silverstone. However, it’s not clear if those clips represent critical plot points, or simply moments of great action.

Wolff is portrayed in a speaking role at the end of the film, where he’s shown offering Joshua Pearce a ride in the future. Further, Fred Vasseur and Zak Brown are also asked to comment on APXGP in a fictionalized press conference.

Is the Brad Pitt F1 movie based on a true story?

F1 is not based on a true story; the concept was dreamed up by director Joseph Kosinski, whose other film credits include directing Top Gun: Maverick, Tron: Legacy, and even the music video for Lady Gaga’s “Hold My Hand.”

When it came to actual script writing, it was Ehren Kruger who fleshed out Kosinski’s idea. Interestingly enough, much of Kruger’s previous writing credits have come in the horror genre, including Scream 3, The Ring trilogy, and more. He joined Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie in writing the script for Top Gun: Maverick.

That being said, Formula 1 itself was closely involved in the development of this film, which meant the actors and film crew had unprecedented access to the drivers and other personnel. Further, several scenes in the movie are pulled from real life, including a contentious Abu Dhabi season finale red-flagged in the final moments of the race.

Which races was it filmed at?

F1 was filmed at a variety of Formula 1 Grands Prix around the world, as well as at other key racing events. Crews were present at the following events:

  • 2024 IMSA Rolex 24
  • 2023 Belgian Grand Prix
  • 2024 Belgian Grand Prix
  • 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix
  • 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix
  • 2023 Italian Grand Prix
  • 2024 British Grand Prix
  • 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix
  • 2024 Japanese Grand Prix
  • 2024 Dutch Grand Prix
  • 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

What cars did they use for filming?

Because F1 was filmed live during various Grands Prix throughout 2023 and 2024, there are plenty of actual Formula 1 machines littered throughout the film. However, the APXGP cars — those driven by Brad Pitt and Damson Idris — are actually modified Formula 2 machines.

F1 cars are highly specialized and therefore immensely difficult to drive, but a Formula 2 machine can be made to look like an F1 car with modifications to the bodywork and aerodynamics, and that’s exactly what the F1 crew did.

Director Joseph Kosinski stated that it was none other than Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff who suggested the modified F2 car trick. That way, filming is done with a real race car, albeit one that could be more easily controlled by Pitt, Idris, and their stunt drivers.

Speaking to Deadline, Kosinski said that people “all complain that racing movies aren’t fast enough because usually when they build these cars, they’re movie cars. You know, they look right, but they aren’t real race cars.

“At one of our first meetings, Toto said: ‘You should build this off a Formula 2 car, but make it look like a Formula 1 car,’ so it’s a Formula 2 chassis and engine.

“We worked closely with Mercedes and their design team and aerodynamicists to develop a custom body that resembles the latest generation Formula 1 car.

“They’re built specifically for this movie. They also have 15 camera mounts built into them, including the recorders and the batteries and the transmitters. They’re made for shooting movies, but they are fundamentally race cars.”

In other words, the cars used for filming F1 are specially designed for cinematic work, but they’re still race cars.

Early scenes in the film also establish Brad Pitt’s character Sonny Hayes as a sports car driver, where he got behind the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 R. Filming was done with the No. 120 machine of Wright Motorsports which fielded Adam Adelson, Elliott Skeer, Jan Heylen, and Frederic Makowiecki in the 2024 Rolex 24. In the film, it will appear as a car run by the fictional Chip Hart Racing team, and the car is shared between fictional Hayes and real-life racer Patrick Long.

Did Brad Pitt race in actual F1 races?

No, Brad Pitt and co-star Damson Idris did not actually compete against Formula 1 drivers in any Grand Prix while filming F1.

However, they did join the full grid on certain formation laps and during brief 10-minute sessions in order to capture footage of the fictional APXGP team on track. When you see APXGP cars battling in the heat of a race, that footage has been edited together in post-production, or was captured during a practice session.

How did they get the footage?

The camera crew for F1 has developed some innovative techniques for gathering motorsport footage.

As mentioned above, the crew started with a Formula 2 car chassis and created a racing machine designed to look like a Formula 1 car — albeit one that could film a movie along the way. The modified F2 machine features 15 different camera mounts to collect footage.

The team converted six F2 cars to this specification, which required some creative thinking to find the best way to get the required footage. This required Sony develop extremely small, lightweight cameras that could be mounted to the car without weighing it down. Director Joseph Kosinski also wanted to be able to remotely control the camera angle via transmitter, which means each camera can change its perspective.

As far as actual in-race footage is concerned, F1 will be splicing in footage from actual Grands Prix in order to create a sense of realism.

What do the current Formula 1 drivers think of the F1 movie?

All 20 drivers were invited to a screening of F1 in the build-up to the Monaco Grand Prix, though two drivers (Lance Stroll and Max Verstappen) declined to attend.

The drivers who attended the screening overwhelmingly enjoyed the film, as reported by Motorsport.com. 

“I was brilliant in it and that was the main thing!” Lando Norris said. “It was a very good movie, a nice storyline – I don’t know how much I can and can’t say.

“It was a cool story, I think an inspirational story – it had a lot of different meanings behind it all. But a cool storyline and a lot of inspiration for young people coming into it.”

Haas driver Oliver Bearman added, “I thought the movie was fantastic. It really depicts what we go through, in a bit of a Hollywood way, as you would expect.

“It’s going to make people want to watch F1, which is really the goal of it. The onboard shots and the work that they did was actually quite incredible – it was impressive to see the technology that they can use.”

Carlos Sainz, Williams driver, claimed that he “truly enjoyed” the film, though he did add, “For the hardcore fan and for journalists we will see things that might be a bit too American or a bit too Hollywood.

“But honestly I enjoyed the whole film.”

Fernando Alonso added that he felt the movie “represents Formula 1 quite well,” while Liam Lawson said “it has the potential to be one of the biggest movies of the year.”

Esteban Ocon specifically pointed out Lewis Hamilton’s contributions, saying, “I really see where Lewis has put his touch on it to try and make everything as realistic as possible.”

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