Apple’s Untitled F1 Movie Starring Brad Pitt to Begin Filming at British Grand Prix

Apple's as-yet untitled movie based on the Formula 1 championship is set to begin filming at the British Grand Prix 2023, which will take place from July 7 to July 9 at the Silverstone Circuit in England. The film stars Brad Pitt as Sonny Hayes, a former driver returning to the sport, and will also feature Damson Idris who plays the younger teammate of Hayes. The film is being directed by Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick), with seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton producing, alongside Hollywood veteran Jerry Bruckheimer.

Preparations for the start of filming have been visible at the Silverstone Circuit ahead of the start of Grand Prix activities, with a section of the pitlane dedicated to the fictional APXGP team that is being featured in the film. APXGP is a fictional 11th team on the grid, and is based on the current Mercedes F1 team, with a somewhat similar livery and sponsor logos. This would be expected, given that producer Lewis Hamilton has long been associated with the Mercedes team, and has won six out of his seven F1 world championship victories with Mercedes.

“I've seen all the footage of camera positions [we will use],” said Hamilton to formula1.com. “I've spent time with Joe (Kosinski) trying to make sure we've got the best positions,” continued the seven-time world champion.

Filming for the movie with the APXGP car on track is expected to take place in between track sessions for the F1 British Grand Prix 2023 and any support series race sessions. Additionally, it's expected that the Apple film crews will film footage of the actual British Grand Prix itself, to be used in the unnamed movie.

Formula 1 has embraced entertainment media's role in the sport in recent times, particularly after the success of Netflix's Drive to Survive docu-series, which brought renewed interest in the sport worldwide. Although Apple's film does not have a release date yet, it is expected to have a theatrical run before eventually coming onto the Apple TV+ streaming platform.