Brad Pitt’s Formula One movie: Release date, cast, plot as scenes filmed at British Grand Prix

Movie megastar Brad Pitt and racing icon Lewis Hamilton are joining forces to create a brand new movie that’ll be racing its way onto our screens faster than a Formula One car.

In fact, it's this elite racing class, Formula One, that will take the focus for the as-yet-untitled feature film — rumoured to be called Apex — which is being directed by Top Gun: Maverick helmer, Joseph Kosinski.

Tom Cruise’s recent return to the cockpit broke box office records and earned rave reviews, proving so good that Steven Spielberg himself even argued that the film may have saved cinema.

With that in mind, Kosinski’s follow-up project with Pitt comes with a lot of expectations as it enters production — so, you know, no biggie — but what’s it even about?

Read more: Brad Pitt to drive at British Grand Prix for Formula One movie (Variety, 2 min read)

Read on to get caught up with everything we know about Brad Pitt and Lewis Hamilton’s Formula One movie.

When is Brad Pitt and Lewis Hamilton’s Formula One movie out?

With the film still in pre-production, a concrete release date is currently unknown. However, we can likely expect to find the film in late 2024 or early 2025, speeding its way exclusively into cinemas before heading to Apple TV +.

A first look at the film was given at the 2023 British Grand Prix, where the car APXGP was given a test spin around the race track for the upcoming movie, images of which was shared with fans by the official F1 Twitter page.

What is Brad Pitt’s Formula One movie about?

Talking at the British Grand Prix in 2023, Brad Pitt revealed the plot outline to press. In it, he plays racing driver Sonny Hayes, an F1 driver in the 1990s who “has a horrible crash, kind of craps out and disappears and is racing in other disciplines”.

“His friend, played by Javier Bardem, is a team owner. They’re a last-placed owner, 21, 22 on the grid. They’ve never scored a point. They have a young phenom played by Damson Idris. He brings me in as a kind of Hail Mary, and hijinks ensue.”

Operating under the simple working title of Formula One, the movie will be directed by Kosinski in his first feature since 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick. He’ll also be joined by Maverick’s same producer, Jerry Bruckheimer, alongside seven-time world racing champion Hamilton.

Read more: Lewis Hamilton launches film & TV company (Deadline, 9 min read)

As for what audiences can expect, Kosinski told The Wrap (via Deadline) in June 2022 that he was determined to bring the same cinematic thrills that he delivered to Top Gun: Maverick to the world of racecar driving, promising a lot of “in-camera action.”

By using practical effects, the director hopes to bring viewers into the driver’s seat at 200mph much like he invited them inside Cruise’s high-flying cockpit.

“Certainly seeing people react to an in-camera, authentically captured film like Top Gun makes us all feel good that our approach works and is appreciated by audiences,” he told the outlet.

“It’s almost funny to me to see people who are so enamoured with real photography. Younger people almost haven’t seen a lot of it. They’re so used to CGI [computer-generated images] being a tool of big movies that when you shoot something for real, it feels innovative.

"That’s exactly the approach for Formula One … to shoot at the real races and real cars and capture it. It’s going to be a huge challenge but an exciting one for me.”

Speaking at the British Grand Prix, Pitt promised the film is aiming to put audiences in the driving seat.

"This should be as authentic as we can get it," Pitt said. "Lewis wants us to respect the sport, that we really show it for what it is. As a civilian, I had no idea what it takes to be a driver. The aggression and dexterity, I have so much respect for it.”

The film will receive a theatrical release before becoming available on Apple TV+.

Who is starring in Brad Pitt and Lewis Hamilton’s Formula One movie?

Pitt will lead the way, starring as Sonny Hates the ex-pro who comes out of retirement to mentor a new, younger driver. Hamilton isn’t expected to have a starring role in the feature but will contribute to the film’s racing sequences.

Speaking to reporters in June 2022, the racing champion explained: “I don't plan to be in it, no.”

"Really my responsibility and something that I take on is just making sure that the cast and the crew in the background is diverse.

"It's really about showing how great this sport really is to people that maybe have never watched it but also making sure that we really keep the real heritage and the true racing spirit in the movie."

In April 2023, it was confirmed that Snowfall actor Damson Idris will star in a key role opposite Pitt.

Idris will don the jumpsuit of Joshua Pearce, the racing rookie Pitt decides to train.

Oscar-winner Javier Bardem will play the APXGP team owner.

Banshees of Inisherin star Kerry Condon is also due to appear in the film as one the team's engineers. The Irish star was photographed sat next to Killing Eve star Kim Bodnia at the APXGP pitwall at the British Grand Prix.

Meanwhile, Hamilton has promised a diverse cast in his first foray into the movie world. "I think my responsibility is to make sure it is diverse," he said of the movie’s casting.

"I want to make the movie, in terms of like having diversity and representation. I want it to be as Formula 1 should be in the future — or should be now, but will be in the future."

Will Brad Pitt drive a Formula One car?

With Kosinski at the helm, we can safely assume the filmmaker will be utilising all the practical effects possible to help bring audiences closer to the action.

This includes using small cameras that can fit inside a driver’s cockpit whilst recording in 6K; they’re the same type that helped bring viewers into Cruise’s cockpit in Top Gun: Maverick.

Plus, during the Formula One Accelerate Summit in May 2023, it was confirmed that Pitt himself will get in on the action and actually drive Formula One race cars for key scenes in the movie.

Read more: Brad Pitt shares first details about F1 movie after ‘warm’ lap at Silverstone (Independent, 3 min read)

Talking about taking to the track at Silverstone, Pitt said: “Tell you what’s amazing about it. You’ll see the cameras mounted all over the car. You’ve never seen speed, you’ve never seen the G-forces like this. it’s really amazing.”

He called taking part in the hot lap "humbling" saying “I don’t know if you could call mine a hot lap, I’d call it kind of a warm lap.

“I’ve taken a few tours, unintentionally, through the grass.”

“There’s a couple of corners where I can see the stands, but I was focused on the lines. I was able to appreciate the experience of driving when I was on the straights."

Seemingly unable to get rid of his extra dose of adrenaline while filming his upcoming Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning two-parter, Cruise has also offered to get involved and help film some of these lightning-fast racing scenes himself.

Brad Pitt and Lewis Hamilton's Formula One movie is coming soon.