Brad Pitt suits up, drives fast and brings the drama in “F1 The Movie.” As Formula 1’s popularity has been on the incline, expanding into new territories, Apple Original Films has taken up the charge of transforming the intense, adrenaline-filled sport into a drama-packed movie starring Pitt. On May 12, TODAY revealed an exclusive look at the new trailer for “F1 The Movie,” allowing fans everywhere to see what’s set to come when the movie, directed by Joseph Kosinski, releases June 27. There are plenty of race scenes (after all, this is from the makers of “Top Gun: Maverick”), an aggressive battle on and off the track between teammates Sonny Hayes (Pitt) and Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), and a female race engineer (Kerry Condon). According to the film’s website and trailer, the movie follows Hayes — a former F1 driver of the ’90s — as he attempts to return to the sport after an accident nearly ended his promising career. Decades later, he gets a second chance when Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), his former teammate and owner of a struggling F1 team, convinces him to come back to the pinnacle of motorsport and attempt to claim victory and glory once more. While “F1” is a fictitious story, plenty of real moments from the actual racetrack made it in. The movie was filmed at a number of actual Grand Prix weekends during the 2024 season, with real fans and drivers participating in scenes. Real drivers pretended to be on the podium alongside movie characters and they were also seen in the background of some shots. Pitt was even caught pretending to be giving a post-race interview during a real one. “F1 was so welcoming to us,” Condon said in a video posted by F1. “It felt like we were all one and we were all together.” Seven-time champion and Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton — who recently co-chaired the Met Gala — is a producer for the movie and helped Pitt and Idris learn how to drive and look the part of an F1 star, according to Formula1.com. “F1 The Movie” also co-stars Tobias Menzies, Kim Bodnia and Simone Ashley. The film arrives in theaters and IMAX nationwide on June 27 and internationally beginning June 25.
