Brad Pitt ‘F1’ film may bring fans for ‘not the right reasons’ in concerning new verdict
Brad Pitt during filming of "F1" during the 2024 British Grand Prix.
1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve has concerns over the type of fan which the upcoming Brad Pitt ‘F1’ film may bring to the sport.
The movie – simply titled ‘F1’ – will star Brad Pitt as a racing driver [Sonny Hayes], who comes out of retirement to mentor his rookie APXGP team-mate Joshua Pearce, played by Damson Idris, with the film – for which seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton has served as a producer – set to hit theatres internationally on June 25, 2025 and June 27 in the United States.
Jacques Villeneuve concerned over Brad Pitt film impact on F1 fanbase
The film will be unique in the fact that filming has taken place during F1 race weekends, with the fictional APXGP outfit present as an 11th team in the paddock, the real-life Formula 1 drivers set to feature in the movie.
However, Villeneuve is not seeing all positives to this upcoming film, suggesting it will create further excitement about Formula 1 and get new fans tuning in, though not necessarily “race fans” who understand Formula 1.
“The F1 film can bring a lot of fans, but that doesn’t make them race fans,” Villeneuve told InstantCasino.com. “It doesn’t mean they understand the sport and how it works because they’ve watched Brad Pitt in a race car.
“I did really enjoy the movie ‘Rush’, that was really good and I expect it to be a similar Hollywood-style type of movie.
“The film will make a lot more people excited about F1, but not necessarily for the right reasons.”
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It is safe to say that Formula 1 president Stefano Domenicali is excited over the possible impacts of the ‘F1’ film though, predicting the impact could be bigger than Netflix’s Drive to Survive, which got the ball rolling on the popularity boom which the series is enjoying.
“I think that if Netflix was big, I think that the movie – and we discussed in Hungary the plan of commercialisation and promotion – will be massive,” Domenicali stated in a Motorsport.com interview.
“We’re going to hit a target that is not yet present.”
Netflix’s Drive to Survive first hit the screens back in 2019, with series six released in February 2024.
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