The upcoming Formula 1 movie, simply titled F1, is already creating excitement with its close connection to the real racing world.

The film has been shooting during actual Grand Prix weekends, including at the 2024 Mexico City GP, where Brad Pitt, who stars in the movie, was seen greeting fans.

The story follows Sonny Hayes, played by Pitt, a former racer making a comeback after a big crash in the 1990s. Hayes is brought back by his old friend, the owner of the fictional APXGP team (played by Javier Bardem), to mentor a young driver, Joshua Pierce, played by Damson Idris. Directed by Joseph Kosinski, known for Top Gun: Maverick, the movie promises thrilling racing action and drama.

Mercedes has played a key role in the production, building special cars for the movie that combine F1 looks with F2 technology. These black-and-gold cars even feature Mercedes-AMG logos, which caused some concern among rival teams like Red Bull.

Lewis Hamilton, through his production company Dawn Apollo Films, is also a consultant for the movie, adding more authenticity to the project.

Recently, producer Jerry Bruckheimer shared that it took years to convince Red Bull they wouldn’t be made the villains of the story, especially with Mercedes being so involved.

“The interesting part is that, since we teamed up with Mercedes, the other teams said ‘wait a second, this movie is going to be about Mercedes and we’re going to look bad’,” he said in a conversation with outgoing Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei at the 2024 Investor Day event in New York.

“Red Bull said ‘we’re going to be the villains’.

“It took us three years to convince them that they weren’t going to be the villains and we finally got to a place where all the teams are really leaning into us to really help us.”

The film is set to release in UK cinemas on June 25, 2025, with a North American release following on June 27, but details about the global premiere are still unknown.