Formula 1 movie starring Brad Pitt: how F1 marketing grows in 2025
The world of Formula 1 is about to experience a historic moment with the release, scheduled for June 25, 2025, of the movie of the same name produced by Apple Original and starring Brad Pitt. This film project represents a major marketing opportunity for the Formula 1 World Championship, further contributing to the consolidation of the F1 brand as a luxury and popular culture brand.
The film as a continuation of “Drive to Survive”
The Formula 1 movie starring Brad Pitt comes after the huge success of the Netflix series “Drive to Survive”, which brought the rainbow Circus to a wider and younger audience. While “Drive to Survive” offered a behind-the-scenes look at the World Championship, the Apple Original film will focus on the action on the track, with Pitt as a former driver who returns to racing to support his rookie teammate Joshua Pearce, played by Damson Idris.
A top-notch cast and filming on real Formula 1 circuits
The film boasts a top-notch cast, with Pitt and Idris joined by the likes of Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem, Tobias Menzies, and Sarah Niles. In addition, multiple champion Lewis Hamilton was involved in several aspects of the project, including the screenplay. Filming took place on real Formula 1 circuits-such as Spa and Silverstone-with the cast having the opportunity to drive specially modified race cars.
A stratospheric budget and cutting-edge technology
With an estimated budget of more than $250 million, the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt represents a significant investment by Apple Original Films. Director Joseph Kosinski, fresh off the success of “Top Gun: Maverick,” has promised to bring the thrills of Formula 1 to life like never before, thanks to the use of state-of-the-art camera technology.
The marketing opportunity for Formula 1
The Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt represents aunique marketing opportunity for the World Championship. In addition to reaching a wider audience, the film will help strengthen the image of Formula 1 as a luxury brand and popular culture. In addition, the collaboration with Apple Original Films and the presence of Hollywood stars such as Brad Pitt and Javier Bardem will add further prestige to the F1 brand.
The consolidation of the F1 brand
In recent years, Formula 1 has been on a path of brand consolidation, focusing on greater accessibility and a more glamorous and modern image. The success of “Drive to Survive” demonstrated the interest of a wider audience in the rainbow Circus, and the film starring Brad Pitt is another step in this direction.
Happy viewing
The Formula 1 movie starring Brad Pitt, due out in 2025, represents a major marketing opportunity for the World Championship. With a top-notch cast, filming on real Formula 1 circuits and a stratospheric budget, the film will help reinforce F1’s image as a luxury brand and popular culture.
In addition, the film is a natural continuation of the success of“Drive to Survive,” solidifying the interest of a wider audience in the rainbow Circus.
In conclusion, the film starring Brad Pitt is a unique opportunity for Formula 1 to further establish itself as one of the world’s most prestigious and followed sports brands.
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Associate Director, Executive Marketing and Commercial at RTR Sports Marketing, a London-based sports marketing company specializing in motorsport for over 25 years.
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In an era where it is possible to get anywhere with a click, there is a strong temptation to approach teams and properties directly for sponsorship projects.
By doing so, we are convinced that we are shortening the value chain, saving time and money. However, these DYI methods are anything but risk-free and what initially appears to be a competitive advantage soon turns into a problem that is difficult to resolve. That’s why there are agencies. And this is why you should rely on us for your sponsorships.
Save time and money
When first approaching a motorsport sponsorship project, it is difficult to know immediately which stakeholders are correct, what the decision flow is, and what the right timelines are for each process. Motorsport is a very specialized field of action, and fitting effectively into its paths can take a lot of time and therefore money. We, on the other hand, know referents and spheres of action and know who to talk to, when and how. So you are also more effective.
The right information, the right choice
Motorsport is an immense passion, and for our heart colors we would be willing to do anything. But business is a different business, and it is important to make the best possible strategic decisions based on independent research, statistics and reliable data. A motorsport sponsorship agency like RTR has an objective, 360-degree picture of the scenario and can tell you what is really best for you: which racing series, which athlete, which team. This is because we possess a great deal of data and information on ratings, segmentation and attitudes. Because the numbers don’t lie. Never.
Activations are the beating heart
Activations are the real heart of motorsport sponsorship. Without them, there remains only a blank sticker on a motorcycle, car or uniform and no contact with the public, no emotional connection, no impact on the bottom line. Then how do you do it? It certainly won’t be the teams or the athletes who will help you leverage sponsorship and enjoy the many marketing rights you have paid for. To bring out the best in a motorsport marketing project, you need an agency that knows how to use sponsorship to engage the fanbase online, to reach out to Shopping Centers, to organize hospitality, to develop B2B and B2C opportunities, and to get “your” athletes in front of millions of potential consumers.
Objective measurements for a certain return
Would you ever go to the dealer who sold you the car and ask if the competitor’s car is better? No, of course. So, how do you expect to get firm measurements of the effectiveness of your sponsorship if you do not rely on someone super partes? At RTR, we have always worked with independent third-party agencies that allow us to know the return on any exposure of your brand on TV and in the media. In addition, we believe in calculating ROI as the ultimate measure of your success-so we can tell you for every penny you spend how much you are making.
Sit back, relax, we’ll take care of it
We have been involved in motorsport sponsorship and sports marketing for more than 15 years. We are consultants in the sense that our goal is to maximize your investment, but we are also an agency that manages the project from start to finish. We have been doing this since 1995 with passion and professionalism, following three principles that have become cornerstones of our business: independence, verticality and transparency.
I would like to highlight the fact that one of the qualities of RTR is its great ability to approach the sponsorship scenario strategically, together with its passionate attitude, its amazing enthusiasm for solving problems, and its high level of professionalism.
Gianluca Degliesposti
Executive Director Server&Storage EMEA
Eurosport is truly delighted with its business relationship with Riccardo Tafà, who has become extremely popular, thanks to his detailed knowledge of the sports marketing sector and his highly diligent attitude to work.
Francois Ribeiro
Commercial Director
Passion and Expertise are the features that I have found in RTR since the very beginning. Serious and reliable professionals but also very helpful, nice and open-mind people, willing to listen and compare different ideas. All the values in which RTR believes make this agency a partner, not just a supplier, a partner with whom we have had the opportunity to achieve significant commercial results in term of success and image.
Luca Pacitto
Head of Communication
We have been working with RTR Sports Marketing for over 10 years. The objectives and the programmes of collaboration continue to be renewed and to grow with mutual satisfaction. I believe RTR is a team of great professionals led by Riccardo Tafà, who I consider a manager of exceptional skills and with a great passion for his work.
Lucio Cecchinello
Team Principal
I have known and worked with Riccardo Tafà since 1995 when we collaborated for the first time on a project for the Williams Formula 1 team. Several clients followed. After leaving Williams to work for Gerhard Berger then owner of the Toro Rosso F1 Team, I turned again to Riccardo to seek his help in finding a tool supplier for the team and Riccardo duly obliged with an introduction to USAG, a partnership with Toro Rosso which endured for five years. I recently started a new role as Group Commercial Director for the renowned Andretti Autosport organisation and I find myself working with Riccardo once again on a number of interesting projects. Why has this relationship with Riccardo endured ? He’s smart, knows the commercial side of sport inside out and back to front and he’s honest and trustworthy. Riccardo Tafà is a “doer” not a “talker”: in over 20 years I have never had a dispute either with him or with a company that he has introduced and each partnership introduced by Riccardo has delivered quantifiable ROI to rights holder and sponsor alike. I can think of no better testimonial of Riccardo’s diligence, knowledge, contact base and hard work than that.
Jim Wright
Group Commercial Director
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