Apple believes in F1, its upcoming racing blockbuster starring Brad Pitt, so much that the company used its first-ever Apple Original Films ad spot tied to this year’s Super Bowl to gin up excitement with a high-adrenaline teaser. And now that the company has just dropped the first full trailer for the movie, which you can check out below, what the teaser only hinted at is now abundantly clear: This one is going to be an adrenaline-fueled spectacle you won’t want to miss.
Directed by Top Gun: Maverick’s Joseph Kosinski, F1 follows Pitt as Sonny Hayes, a retired Formula 1 driver who gets back onto the track to mentor a rookie (played by Damson Idris). But this isn’t just another sports drama — Apple went all out, filming during actual Grand Prix weekends, meaning the cast was competing on the track alongside real-life F1 legends.
That level of authenticity — paired with Kosinski’s signature high-octane visuals and appearances by F1 drivers like Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, and Sergio Pérez — has racing fans unsurprisingly hyped.
“Dubbed ‘the greatest that never was,’ Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) was Formula 1’s most promising phenom of the 1990s until an accident on the track nearly ended his career,” Apple’s summary explains. “Thirty years later, he’s a nomadic racer-for-hire when he’s approached by his former teammate Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), owner of a struggling Formula 1 team that is on the verge of collapse.
“Ruben convinces Sonny to come back to Formula 1 for one last shot at saving the team and being the best in the world. He’ll drive alongside Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), the team’s hotshot rookie intent on setting his own pace. But as the engines roar, Sonny’s past catches up with him and he finds that in Formula 1, your teammate is your fiercest competition — and the road to redemption is not something you can travel alone.”
Apple acquired F1 in 2022 for a reported $130-$140 million (before even factoring in cast salaries), making it one of the biggest streaming film deals in recent memory. But before it hits Apple TV+, the movie is getting the full cinematic treatment with an IMAX release on June 27, promising a visually stunning, pulse-pounding experience on the biggest screen possible.
With heavyweights like Javier Bardem, Kerry Condon, and Tobias Menzies also in the cast, F1 is shaping up to be a must-watch for racing fans and action lovers alike. And it’s another sign that Apple TV+ is serious about building up an impressive film library.
For a look at some of the other top-tier movies the streamer has to offer, check out my picks below for Apple’s best original films so far.
