“F1,” a Formula One racing film starring Brad Pitt, Damson Idris and several real-life drivers, arrives in theaters on Friday, June 27.
In the Apple film, Pitt plays a retired Formula One driver, Sonny Hayes, who returns to racing to mentor and partner with a rookie teammate Joshua Pearce, played by Idris, for the fictional Apex Grand Prix team. The film also stars Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, Javier Bardem, Kim Bodnia, Sarah Niles and Samson Kayo.
At the “F1” premiere in New York City, Pitt told Variety that they used real race cars to prepare for the film. “We ended up driving for about two years,” he said on the red carpet on June 16. “ So, I’m kind of proud of that.”
The cast also worked closely with real race car drivers like Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion and the first Black driver to compete in Formula One. Hamilton was also involved with writing the script and producing the film for his Dawn Apollo Films production company.
Some scenes were filmed at actual Formula One events, such as last year’s British Grand Prix, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the Rolex 24 at the Daytona sportscar race this January and more.
Pitt produced “F1” alongside Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman for Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner. Directed by “Top Gun: Maverick” director Joseph Kosinski, the film was also made in collaboration with Formula One. Ehren Kruger, who worked with Kosinski on “Top Gun: Maverick,” wrote the screenplay.
Many active Formula One drivers will also make appearances as themselves throughout the film. See the real-life racers of “F1” below.
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Max Verstappen
Image Credit: Courtesy of Getty Max Verstappen is the Dutch representative in Formula One and drives for Red Bull. From 2021 to 2024, Verstappen has won four Formula One World Driver’s Championship titles with Red Bull. Across 11 seasons, he has also won 65 Grand Prix competitions. His family has a background in racing as he is the son of Dutch former Formula One driver Jos Verstappen and Belgian former kart racer Sophie Kumpen.
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Lewis Hamilton
Image Credit: Courtesy of Getty Lewis Hamilton is a seven-time World Drivers’ Champion from the United Kingdom who competes for Ferrari. Hamilton made his Formula One debut with McLaren in 2007 at the Australian Grand Prix and became the first Black driver to compete in the class. He currently holds the record for the most Formula One victories in a single season with a total of 105 wins, according to ESPN.
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Lando Norris
Image Credit: Courtesy of Getty Lando Norris is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for McLaren. Since making his 2019 debut in the worldwide racing competition, he has won six Grands Prix across seven seasons. Norris was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers’ Competition in 2024.
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Esteban Ocon
Image Credit: Courtesy of Getty Esteban Ocon is a French racing driver for Haas. In 2021, he won his first Formula One victory while competing with the Alpine racing team. Ocon began his competitive racing career at the age of nine and won several national and international titles. He made his Formula One debut at the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix with Manor as a member of the Mercedes Junior Team.
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Valtteri Bottas
Image Credit: Courtesy of Getty Valtteri Bottas is a Finnish racing driver who has won 10 Grand Prix races across 12 seasons. Since 2013, he has competed in Formula One and has finished as runner-up twice in the World Drivers’ Championship in 2019 and 2020 as a full-time driver for Mercedes.
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Fernando Alonso
Image Credit: Courtesy of Getty Fernando Alonso is a Spanish racing driver who competes for Aston Martin. He is a two-time Formula One World Champion, having won the title in 2005 and 2006 with Renault. Alonso has also won the 2018-19 FIA World Endurance Championship as well as a two-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Toyota. He remains the only driver to have won both the Formula One World Drivers’ Championship and World Endurance Championship. In his career, he has won 36 Grands Prix.
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Kevin Magnussen
Image Credit: Courtesy of Getty Kevin Magnussen is a Formula One veteran who has participated in more than 180 Grands Prix throughout his racing career. Although Magnussen hasn’t won a Formula One championship title, he does hold the record for most race starts with leading a lap, according to Motorsport. He is now a factory driver who will compete in races with BMW.
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Daniel Ricciardo
Image Credit: Courtesy of Getty Daniel Ricciardo is an Australian racing driver who most recently competed with AlphaTauri. He has participated in Formula One from 2011 to 2024 and has won eight Grands Pix within 14 seasons. He is nicknamed the “Honey Badger” for his competitive racing style amid his approachable demeanor.
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Alexander Albon
Image Credit: Courtesy of Getty Alexander Albon competes under the Thai flag in Formula despite also being a British racing driver. He currently races for Atlassian Williams. Albon made his Formula One debut at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix with Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri). He has earned two podium finishes in Formula One.
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Charles Leclerc
Image Credit: Courtesy of Getty Charles Leclerc races in Formula One with Ferrari as a Monégasque driver. He started participating in Formula One in 2018. For the 2022 season, Leclerc was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers’ Championship with Ferrari. Additionally, he has won eight Grands Prix in his career.
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Sergio Pérez
Image Credit: Courtesy of Getty Images Sergio Pérez is a racing driver from Mexico who has previously competed for the Red Bull team. Before ending his partnership with the brand in 2024, he was a runner-up in the 2023 Formula One World Drivers’ Championship. He has competed in Formula One since 2011, winning six Grands Prix within 14 seasons.
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George Russell
Image Credit: Courtesy of Getty Images George Russell competes for Mercedes as a British racing driver. Russell has previously won the 2018 FIA Formula Two Championship and the 2017 GP3 Series. He made his Formula One debut at the Australian Grand Prix, competing for Atlassian Williams in 2019 before joining Mercedes in 2022.
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Pierre Gasly
Image Credit: Courtesy of Getty Images Pierre Gasly is a French racing driver who competes in Formula One for Alpine. He made his Formula One debut with Toro Rosso at the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix. He achieved his first and only Formula One victory at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix while driving for AlphaTauri.
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Oscar Piastri
Image Credit: Courtesy of Getty Images Oscar Piastri is an Australian driver who races for McLaren. In his rookie season, he accomplished a record-breaking milestone, becoming the first rookie to lead a Formula One race in over a decade. He has won seven Formula One racing competitions. Piastri’s first win was in 2024 at the Hungarian Grand Prix. His other wins include competitions in China, Saudi Arabia, Miami, Bahrain and Spain.
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Zhou Guanyu
Image Credit: Courtesy of Getty Images Zhou Guanya became the first Chinese driver to compete in the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix after making his debut in 2022 with Alfa Romeo (now Kick Sauber), according to the official F1 website. He has competed in Formula One from 2022 to 2024 and currently serves as a reserve driver for Ferrari.
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Lance Stroll
Image Credit: Courtesy of Getty Images Lance Stroll competes for Aston Martin and is a Canadian racing driver. He competed in his first Formula One race in 2017 at the Australian Grand Prix. That same year, he scored a podium finish in Azerbaijan and became the second youngest driver to score a podium finish in Formula One. He is the son of Lawrence Stroll, a billionaire businessman and owner of the Aston Martin Formula One team.
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Nico Hülkenberg
Image Credit: Courtesy of Getty Images Nico Hülkenberg is a German racing driver who holds the Formula One record for the most career starts without a podium finish and wins. Outside of Formula One, he competed in two rounds for Porsche at the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans on his first attempt. He currently competes for Sauber.
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Yuki Tsunoda
Image Credit: Courtesy of Getty Images Yuki Tsunoda is the first Japanese driver to compete for Red Bull Racing and was promoted to the senior team for the Japanese Grand Prix in 2025. Before participating in Formula One, he won his first championship at the JAF Japan F4 East Series in 2017. He debuted in Formula One for AlphaTauri in 2021 and also finished in fourth place at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that same year.
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Liam Lawson
Image Credit: Courtesy of Getty Images Liam Lawson is a New Zealand driver who competes for Red Bull. He competed in his first Formula One competition in 2023 as a fill-in for an injured Daniel Ricciardo at the Dutch Grand Prix. Before competing in Formula One, Lawson won the NZ Formula Ford championship with a near-perfect score. In 2015, he became the youngest Formula Ford champion in the world, according to his website.
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Logan Sargeant
Image Credit: Courtesy of Getty Images Logan Sargeant is the first American driver to compete in Formula One since 2015, according to USAToday. He made his Formula One debut at the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2023 and scored his only championship point that same year at the United States Grand Prix. He races for Atlassian Williams.
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Carlos Sainz Jr.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Getty Images Carlos Sainz Jr. is a Spanish racing driver who competes for Williams in Formula One. He won his first Formula One championship at the 2022 British Grand Prix. Since then, he has had three more Formula One titles in his 11 seasons. Additionally, he is the son of two-time World Rally Champion Carlos Sainz.
