- Apple Original Films is producing a currently untitled movie about Formula 1 racing and has given us our first look at the black-and-gold car that will feature in the film.
- The film will star Brad Pitt and Damson Idris as the fictional APXGP team’s two drivers, and the actors have also been trained to drive the race car.
- Joseph Kosinski, who directed Top Gun: Maverick, is charge of the project and will use real footage of the APXGP car on track at this weekend’s British Grand Prix.
Cadillac and Andretti Autosport made headlines earlier this year when they announced their intention to join the Formula 1 grid as an 11th team. This weekend’s British Grand Prix will see an 11th team join the paddock, but it won’t be the Andretti Cadillac squad. Instead, it is a fictional team dubbed “APXGP,” which will play a central role in the upcoming and as-yet-untitled F1 movie being produced by Apple Original Films.
Apple Studios first announced last summer that it is producing a movie about Formula 1, looking to capitalize on the surge of popularity that the open-wheel racing series experienced through the Netflix show Drive to Survive. Now we have our first glimpse at the race car that will star in the movie thanks to images released by Apple Original Films and published by F1.
The car clearly appears to follow the latest regulations—introduced in 2022—that put an emphasis on ground-effect downforce, but the design doesn’t appear to be a carbon copy of the current cars on the grid. In fact, the APXGP car being used for the movie is actually based on a Formula 2 chassis, modified by Mercedes and British racing team Carlin, as reported by Racer.com.
The APXGP car sports a black-and-gold livery, reminiscent of the iconic John Player Special–branded Lotus F1 cars of the ’70s and ’80s as well as the infamous Rich Energy–sponsored Haas car of 2019. Notably, the livery includes sponsorships from real companies, including IWC, Tommy Hilfiger, and Expensify. A large AMG badge along the engine cover suggests that the fictional team will be portrayed as an engine customer of Mercedes-AMG F1. IWC is also a Mercedes F1 sponsor, while Tommy Hilfiger has ties to Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton will serve as a producer for the film in hopes of keeping it as true to real life as possible. The movie will star Brad Pitt and Damson Idris (who starred in the FX series Snowfall) as the team’s two drivers. Directing duties are being handled by Joseph Kosinski, who led the filming of the blockbuster hit Top Gun: Maverick.
The crew will be filming at the British Grand Prix. APXGP will occupy a garage between Mercedes and Ferrari, with the two fictional drivers’ names—Sonny Hayes (Pitt) and Joshua Pearce (Idris)—plastered above their pit lane spot. The made-up team also has a pit-wall command center and a hospitality suite in the paddock. Filming will occur on track as well, with the APXGP car piloted by professional drivers. Pitt and Idris have been training and will get some seat time as Kosinski looks to reduce the reliance on CGI, similar to the approach he took with Maverick. No release date has been announced, but considering filming is still underway, we wouldn’t expect it to hit the silver screen for at least another year.
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Associate News Editor
Caleb Miller began blogging about cars at 13 years old, and he realized his dream of writing for a car magazine after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and joining the Car and Driver team. He loves quirky and obscure autos, aiming to one day own something bizarre like a Nissan S-Cargo, and is an avid motorsports fan.