You've probably seen the trailers by now. The engines scream, the tires smoke, and Brad Pitt looks intensely into a rearview mirror. It’s the F1 movie everyone has been talking about for years, and honestly, the hype is actually justified for once.
Hollywood usually messes up racing. They over-dramatize the gear shifts or make the cars look like they’re flying through the air in ways physics won't allow. But this film, simply titled F1, is different. It’s directed by Joseph Kosinski—the guy who gave us Top Gun: Maverick—so you know the "realism" factor is dialed up to eleven.
What the F1 Movie Actually Gets Right
Most people think this is just another underdog story. Well, it kinda is, but the way they shot it is what matters. They didn't just build a set in Atlanta and call it a day. Brad Pitt (playing Sonny Hayes) and Damson Idris (as Joshua Pearce) were actually on the grid during real Grand Prix weekends. They drove modified Formula 2 cars that looked exactly like the 2024/2025 spec F1 machines.
I'm not talking about green screens. I’m talking about Pitt hitting 180 mph at Silverstone while thousands of real fans watched from the grandstands.
The Lewis Hamilton Factor
You can't talk about this movie without mentioning Lewis Hamilton. He didn't just slap his name on the credits as a producer for "clout." He was deep in the weeds. According to Kosinski, Hamilton was the "guardrails" for the entire production.
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- He checked the script for technical nonsense.
- He told them if a car sounded like it was in the wrong gear for a specific corner.
- He even helped the actors understand the "mental" side of being a driver.
Hamilton reportedly told the team "no" more than "yes" early on. He wanted to make sure it didn't feel like a cartoon. If a driver in the movie takes a line that a pro wouldn't take, Lewis would call it out. That level of detail is why the footage looks so visceral.
The Story: Sonny Hayes and the APXGP Team
The plot centers on a fictional 11th team called APXGP. It's owned by Ruben Cervantes, played by Javier Bardem, who is basically the "cool uncle" of the paddock.
Brad Pitt’s character, Sonny Hayes, is a veteran who had a massive crash in the 90s and walked away from the sport. He’s brought back to mentor a young hotshot, Joshua Pearce. It’s a classic mentor-mentee dynamic, but with the added pressure of an 11th team trying to survive in a world where only 10 teams usually exist.
Who Else Is in It?
The cast is surprisingly stacked.
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- Kerry Condon: She plays the technical director of APXGP. She’s the brains behind the speed.
- Tobias Menzies: Plays a somewhat shady board member.
- Sarah Niles: Plays Joshua’s mother, Bernadette.
- Actual F1 Drivers: You’ll see Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and Lando Norris popping up in the background. They aren't just cameos; they are part of the environment.
Why This Isn't Just "Days of Thunder" in Europe
People kept comparing this to Days of Thunder or Driven. Please, don't. Driven (the Stallone one) was a disaster. It had cars flying into lakes.
The F1 movie uses custom-built camera rigs. They developed the smallest 6K cameras ever made to fit inside the cockpits without messing with the aerodynamics. They even worked with Sony to make sure the vibration of the engine didn't ruin the shot. When you see the helmet cam in this movie, it’s not CGI. It’s a real lens inches away from Brad Pitt’s face while he’s pulling several Gs.
The sound design is also next level. They recorded the actual power units from the current grid. If you watch this in IMAX—which you absolutely should—the floor will vibrate every time they downshift.
The Business Side: Apple's Big Bet
Apple Original Films spent a fortune on this. Reports suggest the budget ballooned over $300 million because of the delays and the complexity of filming at live races. But it seems to be paying off. After its theatrical run, where it grossed over $600 million globally, it landed on Apple TV in December 2025.
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It’s basically the cornerstone of Apple’s strategy to own the "luxury sports" space. They already have the MLS deal, and now they’re heavily tied into the F1 world.
How to Get the Most Out of the Film
If you’re a die-hard fan, you’re going to spend half the movie looking for Easter eggs. Look for the McLaren Technology Centre—it’s used as the APXGP headquarters. Keep an eye out for Guenther Steiner and Christian Horner, too. They’re in there.
But if you’re just a casual fan who started watching because of Drive to Survive, you'll still get it. The movie does a decent job explaining the stakes without being too "educational."
Actionable Takeaways for Fans
To really appreciate what Kosinski and Pitt have done, you should do a few things:
- Watch it in IMAX if possible. The 1.90:1 aspect ratio was designed specifically for these racing sequences. Standard screens cut off the top and bottom of the frame, losing the sense of speed.
- Listen for the gear shifts. Thanks to Hamilton's input, the audio is a 1-to-1 match with the telemetry you'd see on a real broadcast.
- Compare the racing lines. If you play F1 24 or F1 25, you’ll notice the actors are actually taking the correct lines through corners like Copse at Silverstone or the Eau Rouge-Raidillon complex at Spa.
The F1 movie is a rare beast: a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster that actually respects the sport it’s portraying. It’s fast, it’s loud, and it finally gives us a look at the cockpit that doesn't feel like a video game.
Check your local listings or fire up your Apple TV+ app to catch it. If you want to see how they actually built the cars for the film, look for the "Making Of" featurette that recently dropped—it shows the modified Dallara chassis they used to keep the actors safe while looking authentic.