What Formula 1 Expects When Brad Pitt F1 Movie Begins Shooting at Silverstone

• An upcoming, as-yet-untitled movie centered around Formula 1 and set to be distributed by Apple, will star Brad Pitt.

• F1 officials hope that the movie will reach and energize a new fan base, much like the Netflix series Drive to Survive has done.

• Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton has signed on to be a consultant for the film.

Filming is due to begin shortly on a Formula 1-themed movie that stakeholders are hopeful will replicate the success that Drive to Survive brought to the championship.

The as-yet-untitled movie, set to be distributed by Apple, will star Brad Pitt, be produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and have Joseph Kosinski as director. Seven-time F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton is assisting in a consultancy role.

The project’s lead figures were at last year’s U.S. Grand Prix at Austin for discussions with key stakeholders and teams in how production would take place in and around Grands Prix. That is now expected to begin in the coming months.

“It’s another way to show what we want to do—something different,” said Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali at an investor Q&A session.

“I mean when we started the collaboration with Netflix, the community said ‘what’s going on, This is not our place to be,' and now we understand the power of it.

“That's another tool with the movie. Actually, we're going to start the shooting at Silverstone very soon, and you will see it will be the first movie where, basically, they will be within the show, within the racing event.

“It will be quite invasive in terms of production, it's something that we need to control, in a way, but it will be another way of showing that Formula 1 never stops.”

Drive to Survive was an early initiative by Liberty Media after its acquisition of Formula 1 in 2017 in order to provide a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the championship. It is widely credited with bringing Formula 1 to new audiences and filming is underway on a sixth season, covering the 2023 campaign, and which is expected to air in February 2024.

“The Simpsons has gone on for 20 years, but there aren't that many shows that run that long,” said Greg Maffei, CEO and President of Liberty Media.

“Drive to Survive is wonderful, but we cannot rely on Drive to Survive to be our only promotion vehicle forever. You’ve got to keep it fresh, change the game.

“This movie, kind of like (the Las) Vegas (Grand Prix), is going to be a whole other level.

“As much as Drive to Survive is enormous to a lot of people in this room and around the world, I still go places and people say ‘huh?’ (The) audience is not that big. It may be big among this group, but it's not that big.

“A Brad Pitt movie, with Lewis Hamilton consulting, with Bruckheimer and with the director from Top Gun: Maverick … we've already seen some of what they're going to do, and how they're going to skin these cars, they took the technology from Top Gun, and it's going to be amazing.”