The concept of an F1 movie is nothing new. In 1966, there was Grand Prix, which featured real race footage and cameo appearances from the sport’s big personalities of the day. Sound familiar? The sport’s been the subject of various films and documentaries since then, perhaps most notably with 2013’s Rush, which charted the tumultuous and closely fought 1976 rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda.
Next year, though, we’re set to get possibly the most faithful depiction of the sport on the silver screen yet, with F1, which, like Grand Prix, has been filmed in part over the course of real F1 weekends over the last couple of years. With the film’s premiere under a year away, and the first trailer recently released, here’s a round-up of everything you need to know about F1. The film, not the sport, obviously.
First F1 trailer
The first trailer for F1 debuted just before the 2024 British Grand Prix, on 7 July. Watch it below.
What’s the plot of F1?
The plot of F1 revolves around APX GP (pronounced Apex), a fictional eleventh team on the F1 grid (we only wish the real sport was that accommodating). It’ll see seasoned F1 star of the ’90s Sonny Hayes, who retired from the sport after a major crash, return to mentor and partner up with promising newcomer Joshua Pearce as the team attempts to make its way up the grid.
Who’s F1 going to star?
F1 poster
Sonny Hayes will be played by three-time Oscar winner Brad Pitt, while British actor Damson Idris (Snowfall, Outside the Wire) stars as Joshua Pearce. Elsewhere, Kerry Condon (Better Call Saul, The Banshees of Inisherin) will star as Kate, APX’s technical director, and Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men, Skyfall) plays the team’s owner, Ruben. Other confirmed cast members include Tobias Menzies, Shea Whigham and Samson Kayo.
As it’s been filmed during genuine F1 weekends, the film’s also set to feature cameos from numerous personalities of the sport. In the trailer, we can see plenty of the 2023 and ’24 grid in a pre-race scene, as well as Guenther Steiner in his role as Haas team principal. Which is a bit awkward now, to say the least.
Who’s directing and producing F1?
F1 is being directed by Joseph Kosinski, whose previous works include Tron: Legacy and Top Gun: Maverick. The cinematic style of the latter – which saw plenty of fixed, wide-angle action shots from cameras mounted on fighter jets – is apparent in the trailer, with F1 cars taking the place of the jets.
Meanwhile, its producers include Pitt, original Top Gun producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and a little-known racing driver named Lewis Hamilton. We’re not sure what he knows about the sport, though…
How close to the real sport will F1 be?
The APX GP car in F1
From what we’ve seen so far, very. Because it’s being produced with the official involvement of the sport, and filmed during actual race weekends, its portrayal of the fine details of F1 are likely to be incredibly accurate. The APX GP team carries plenty of real-world sponsors and in-universe has Mercedes power. APX’s car is, in reality, a Formula 2 car with modifications carried out by the Mercedes team to make it look like a current F1 machine.
With all that said, this is still a movie, so bet on some Hollywood-ification of everything, and don’t expect lots of in-depth chat about tyre graining and MGU-Ks. That’s sort of the point of films.
When’s F1 coming out?
F1 will be released everywhere on 25 June 2025, except for the US, which has to wait until 27 June. As it’s being produced by Apple, we’d imagine it’ll appear on the Apple TV+ streaming service pretty soon after – if not alongside – its cinematic release.
