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New F1 movie: plot, cast, 2025 release date, Brad Pitt and Lewis Hamilton roles

A new trailer has been released for the upcoming Formula One film

Formula One car - side action

A teaser trailer for the upcoming Formula One movie has been released, giving us our first glimpse of Brad Pitt’s venture into Grand Prix racing that’s set to reach cinemas in 2025.

Somewhat uncreatively named ‘F1’, the new film is being headed up by Top Gun: Maverick director, Joseph Kosinski, and scored by the legendary Hans Zimmer. In addition to starring in the film, Pitt is listed amongst the movie’s several producers, which also includes the likes of Sir Lewis Hamilton and Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced the Pirates of the Caribbean film series.

F1 movie trailer and release date

The F1 movie is set to hit theatres on 25 June 2025, likely coming to the Apple TV+ streaming subscription service a few months thereafter.

What’s the plot of the F1 movie?

It’s fair to say the long list of motor racing-themed films over the years have been as inconsistent as Sergio Perez’s performances thus far in the 2024 F1 season. Yet, while the plot of this latest film doesn’t, at face value, look to break any new ground thematically, it should recreate all of the action and drama depicted in Netflix’s documentary series, Drive to Survive.

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The story centres around the fictional eleventh F1 team, APXGP (Apex Grand Prix), with veteran driver Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) called out of retirement in order to mentor rookie racer, Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris).

To shoot the racing scenes, the cast have used modified Formula 2 cars which, with the help of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas team, have been rebodied to look almost indistinguishable from their F1 counterparts. 

Filming has mostly taken place during race weekends throughout the 2023 and 2024 F1 seasons, with locations including Silverstone (Great Britain), Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) and the Las Vegas street circuit (USA).

Is Lewis Hamilton in the F1 movie?

As well as being one of the many producers for the new F1 movie, Lewis Hamilton is expected to make a cameo in the film, alongside the rest of the paddock – including the likes of Max Verstappen and ex-Haas team boss, Gunther Steiner.

Alongside the field of experienced F1 pros will be the main cast of actors, with Brad Pitt no doubt being the headliner of the line-up. Also starring is Damson Idris (Snowfall), Kerry Condon (Better Call Saul) and Academy Award winners, Tobias Menzies (The Crown) and Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men and Skyfall).

Will you be watching the new Formula One movie? Tell us in the comments section below...

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Consumer reporter

Tom is Auto Express' Consumer reporter, meaning he spends his time investigating the stories that matter to all motorists - enthusiasts or otherwise. An ex-BBC journalist and Multimedia Journalism graduate, Tom previously wrote for partner sites Carbuyer and DrivingElectric and you may also spot him presenting videos for the Auto Express social media channels.

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