Brad Pitt Car Race Movie ‘F1’ Drops its First Teaser Trailer

It’s been a year since Brad Pitt was spotted at the British Grand Prix, not as a spectator but as the star of a then-untitled film about Formula One racing. So it’s no coincidence, perhaps, that today marks the release of the movie’s first teaser trailer. F1, as we now know it’s titled, is from Apple Original Films and is made in conjunction with the Formula One organization—so audiences should likely expect thrilling feats of driving and glorious speed over a critical take of the multi-billion-dollar industry.

In the trailer, which features Brad Pitt dismissing questions about safety as related to the construction of a race car, Queen’s “We Will Rock You” provides the soundtrack to some truly impressive footage of F1 cars speeding along various tracks. Pitt’s “aw shucks” grin, still boyish at age 60, also makes its inevitable appearance.

Speaking with Deadline, director Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick) says that the production’s relationship with the Formula One organization meant the film became the 10-team operation’s “eleventh team.”

“We’re shooting at the actual Grand Prix, there are certain aspects of this film where we’re working in very, very tight windows, shooting on the track, between practice and qualifying sessions, in front of hundreds of thousands of people,” Kosinski says.

According to producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Pitt (who plays a retired racer who returns to the sport) and co-star Damson Idris (in the film, a hot-shot up-and-coming driver) trained for three months behind the wheel of Formula 3 and Formula 2 cars under the tutelage of driver Lewis Hamilton, who made F1 history on Sunday as the first driver to win nine races.

Brad Pitt walks in the Pitlane during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone Circuit on July 05, 2024 in Northampton, England.

James Sutton – Formula 1/Getty Images

Hamilton, who triumphed at the British Grand Prix Sunday, is also an executive producer on the film. The champ “was really impressed with them, with their driving,” Bruckheimer says of Pitt and Idris.

The movie, which has yet to complete filming, has been rumored to be one of the most expensive films ever made. Hamilton disputed that claim in May, and Bruckheimer also pushed back against ballooning budget rumors with Deadline—but declined to offer up actual costs. “We can’t give you a number because that’s Apple’s money, and they can talk about it,” he said. “But what I think you can say is it’s quite a bit lower than what’s been reported.”

F1 is set for international release on June 25, 2025, and in theaters in North America on June 27. Despite Apple’s backing of the movie, “We’ve always approached it as a theatrical film,” Kosinski tells Deadline. “As for when and where it appears downstream, I think that’s still to be determined, but the only way you’ll be able to see it when it first comes out is in theaters.”