According to film producer Jerry Bruckheimer, the Red Bull team was concerned that they would be portrayed as the villains in the upcoming Formula 1 movie starring Brad Pitt, partly produced by their rival, Mercedes. Several teams expressed concerns about how they would be depicted in the film, but Bruckheimer assures that Formula 1 will be presented neutrally.
Last Thursday, Jerry Bruckheimer attended the so-called Investor Day in New York. The film producer, known for successes such as Top Gun: Maverick and Pirates of the Caribbean, was interviewed there along with Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei by the German Autosport. “Because we are working with Mercedes, other teams were afraid they would come off badly,” Bruckheimer revealed. “They thought the film would revolve entirely around Mercedes. Red Bull even said, ‘We will definitely be the villains of the film.’
“It took us three years to convince everyone that there would be no villains in the movie,” the American continued. “Now we’ve reached a point where all the teams are helping us and really want to support this project.” On social media, there is sometimes still a bit of mockery about the film. For instance, images of lead actor Brad Pitt, who walked around in a racing suit at several Grands Prix, sparked a lot of discussion.
World Premiere
The simple title F1 does not appeal to everyone. “The best racing films of all time were called Le Mans and Grand Prix,” Bruckheimer explained. “And now we have F1.” The film is scheduled for release on June 25, 2025, in the United Kingdom. According to Bruckheimer, there is still ‘discussion’ about the location of the official premiere. “I thought we had already made a decision on that, but apparently it’s not yet certain,” Maffei joked.
“I think we’ll first show the film in Lewis Hamilton‘s hometown of Monaco to the drivers and teams,” Bruckheimer concluded. “After that, there will be premieres in New York, London, and a whole bunch of other cities. Normally, Brad Pitt is not very fond of press moments, but I think he would like to talk about what he has learned about driving and acting for this film.”
