# F1 (film)

F1 is an upcoming American sports action drama film directed by Joseph Kosinski with a screenplay written by Ehren Kruger, from a story the two co-wrote, featuring the Formula One World Championship, created in collaboration with the FIA, its governing body. The film stars Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, Kim Bodnia, and Javier Bardem.
F1 is scheduled to be theatrically released by Warner Bros. Pictures on June 25, 2025, internationally, and in the United States and Canada on June 27, 2025, four and two days before the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix respectively.

## Premise

Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), a Formula One driver who raced in the 1990s, has a horrible crash, forcing him to retire from Formula One and start racing in other disciplines. A Formula One team owner and friend, Ruben (Javier Bardem), contacts Hayes and asks him to come out of retirement to mentor rookie prodigy Joshua "Noah" Pearce (Damson Idris) for the Apex Grand Prix team (APXGP).

## Cast

* Brad Pitt as Sonny Hayes
* Damson Idris as Joshua "Noah" Pearce
* Kerry Condon as Kate
* Tobias Menzies as Banning
* Kim Bodnia as Kaspar
* Javier Bardem as Ruben Cervantes, Sonny's former teammate, friend and APXGP team owner
* Shea Whigham as Chip Hart
* Joseph Balderrama as Rico Fazio
* Sarah Niles as Bernadette, Noah's mother
* Samson Kayo as Cashman
* Callie Cooke as Jodie
* Will Merrick as Nickleby
* Layne Harper as Press
Additionally, all ten Formula One teams and drivers in the 2023 and 2024 seasons will appear as themselves including:
* Max Verstappen
* Sergio Pérez
* Lewis Hamilton
* George Russell
* Charles Leclerc
* Carlos Sainz Jr.
* Lando Norris
* Oscar Piastri
* Fernando Alonso
* Lance Stroll
* Pierre Gasly
* Esteban Ocon
* Nyck De Vries
* Valtteri Bottas
* Zhou Guanyu
* Nico Hülkenberg
* Kevin Magnussen
* Daniel Ricciardo
* Yuki Tsunoda
* Liam Lawson
* Logan Sargeant
* Alexander Albon
* Franco Colapinto
Others who will appear as themselves include former Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner, and three-time Le Mans winner Benoît Tréluyer. Simone Ashley, and Abdul Salis also joined the cast in undisclosed roles.

## Production

On December 3, 2021, a bidding war commenced for an untitled film starring Brad Pitt, with producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Joseph Kosinski, and screenwriter Ehren Kruger, who previously worked on Top Gun: Maverick, on board in their respective roles. Sources said F1 driver Lewis Hamilton was also involved in the film. Studios involved in the bidding were Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, and Walt Disney Pictures, and streamers Netflix, Apple, and Amazon MGM Studios. Pitt was paid $30 million for his involvement.
In November 2022, Claudio Miranda announced he would be the film's cinematographer. In April 2023, Damson Idris was hired after a lengthy casting process, which included a shortlist of actors driving the car in January 2023. Kerry Condon and Tobias Menzies would join the cast in the following months. Sarah Niles and Simone Ashley also joined the cast.
Prior to filming, Pitt and Idris tested Formula Three and Formula Two cars at the Circuit Paul Ricard in France. In July 2023, principal photography began at the Silverstone Circuit in the United Kingdom, including filming during the 2023 British Grand Prix weekend on July 8–9. Pitt drove a modified Formula 2 car with an added Formula One aero-package during the race weekend, but not in an official F1 session. The car was made in collaboration with the Mercedes-AMG F1 team and Carlin Motorsport. Filming also took place at the Hungaroring, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Monza Circuit, Circuit Zandvoort, Suzuka International Racing Course, Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Las Vegas Strip Circuit, and Yas Marina Circuit, as well as at the 2024 24 Hours of Daytona; the #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R competed carrying cameras and using a livery from the film, including a camera-mounted Lola B2K/10 sportscar for high speed shots. Speaking with former F1 driver and SkySports F1 pundit Martin Brundle at the 2023 British Grand Prix, Pitt confirmed Javier Bardem would star. Later that month, ESPN reported that the film was titled Apex, but it later retracted this statement. On July 5, 2024, the title F1 was announced. A teaser trailer premiered before the 2024 British Grand Prix.
In May 2024, Puck's Matthew Belloni reported the film's budget to be $300 million. Bruckheimer and Kosinski refuted the claim; the former cited rebates and sponsorships as lowering the budget, and the latter said: "I've never had an experience where they were off by this much on a film. I'm not sure where that number came from."

### Music

During the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix, Hans Zimmer announced he will be scoring the film, making his second collaboration with Kosinski after Top Gun: Maverick (2022). This will be the second Formula One-related film Zimmer will have scored after scoring the Ron Howard directed film Rush (2013).

### Post-production

Visual effects studio Framestore provided post-production services on the film, citing involvement from their studios in both London and Mumbai.

## Release

In June 2022, Apple acquired distribution rights in a package deal worth $130–140 million before above-the-line compensation. In June 2024, Warner Bros. Pictures acquired the theatrical, home entertainment and digital purchase distribution rights from Apple, with the film currently scheduled to be released in the IMAX format internationally on June 25, 2025, and domestically on June 27, 2025. Apple retains SVOD rights. It will become available on Apple TV+ at a later date. Three trailers have been released: the first was released on July 7, 2024, before the 2024 British Grand Prix, the second was released on February 9, 2025, during Super Bowl LIX, and a third official trailer was released on March 13, 2025, shortly prior to the commencement of the Australian Grand Prix.