On a Formula One weekend when the race result could have been scripted by Hollywood, more details of Brad Pitt’s Grand Prix movie emerged.
At the British Grand Prix it was revealed that the film would be called, simply, F1, and will hit cinemas in Summer 2025.
The first trailer for F1 just dropped and it gives a good indication of how director Joseph Kosinski blends footage from the real-world Formula 1 season with the fictional tale of Brad Pitt’s back-from-retirement Sonny Hayes and his protégé Joshua “Noah” Pearce played by Damon Idris.
The plot centers around underdog team Apex Grand Prix who face an uphill struggle against their established rivals. Hayes, who last raced in Formula 1 in the 1990s, is recruited by team principal Ruben (Xavier Bardem) to get Apex into the fight.
“Okay, Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, Aston, now McLaren all have a speed on the straights,” says Hayes. “Our shot is battling in the turns. We need to build our car for combat.”
The film is set to feature cameos by many of the drivers on the current F1 grid, and team principals – notably including former Haas boss Guenther Steiner whose 18-rated rants will, no doubt, have to be edited out.
The script has been written by Ehren Kruger who penned three of the Transformers movies and Top Gun: Maverick, but even he may have struggled to come up with the drama that unfolded at the British Grand Prix. Mixed conditions in practice saw three British drivers, George Russell, Sir Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris, take the top three places in qualifying, while a rain-affected race was led by each one of them at different times. The final act saw Hamilton, on worn tyres being chased down by a hard-charging Max Verstappen, but the racing knight prevailed – taking his first win since 2021 for a proper Hollywood ending.
Meanwhile, with powerhouse producer Jerry Bruckheimer behind it F1 is the Summer 2025 blockbuster we can all look forward to. If it is a big hit, there could be a problem, however. After all they can hardly call the sequel F2 can they?
