Brad Pitt's F1 Movie Can't Use Already Shot Footage, Stands to Lose Millions

But that's not even the most interesting part about this project: that would be that it's a Formula One movie. No one specifically said so, but it aims to be the most realistic F1 movie ever made, which means that it will include actual F1 footage, actual F1 cars (*-ish), and will benefit from F1 support and counseling, all in a bid to portray this thrilling, beloved sport in the most realistic light possible.

So here's to hoping this rumor isn't true: sources are saying for one British tabloid that hours of footage that Brad Pitt and the entire team have already shot around the world on location have been rendered unusable. Pitt & Co. have previously been spotted at F1 events around the world, including the British GP at Silverstone and in France, at the Paul Ricard Circuit.

The film is yet to get an official title but is believed to go by Apex because Apex GP is the team whose manager manages (heh) to bring Pitt's Sonny Hayes back on the track as mentor for an up-and-coming star driver. Shooting stopped weeks into the SAG-AFTRA strike when they were shooting on location in Budapest. Since most of the team was part of the striking union, they had to put the project on hold like everyone else.

As per the source – an unnamed one, you guessed it – the end of the strike earlier this week brought along several considerable changes in sponsorship deals. These new deals mean that previously shot footage can no longer be used in the finished film.

Since the source doesn't offer any other details, we're guessing this is about sponsorship deals for the film itself, financing for the production that would have materialized in specific product placement.

Brushing the report off as a silly rumor isn't that easy, even though it comes from an unnamed source. This is the same publication that first reported on Lewis Hamilton's involvement in the film (also in double actor-producer capacity) and on the overall storyline. In other words, whatever sources this publication has on the set, they delivered accurate details before.

If this checks out, Apple and the backers are looking at tens of millions worth of lost footage. Even with Formula One backing the project and even offering the fictional APXGP (Apex GP) team a place in the pits at Silverstone, moving an entire production team from country to country and arranging shooting on location is very expensive and very challenging stuff.

At Silverstone, for example, the APXGP team got its own garage and did several laps as the cameras rolled. For once, the star of the hour wasn't Pitt, but the black-gold Formula 1 car with the Mercedes-Benz logo and the APXGP branding. It was actually a Formula Two car modded to resemble an F1 one, but the gist is the same: this movie will be a real treat for F1 fans, with emphasis on "real."

Brad Pitt promised this much in his interview with Martin Brundle, which came after he completely ignored him on the grid walk. Here's to hoping he won't disappoint through no fault of his own. The film has director Joseph Kosinski onboard and also stars Javier Bardem, Damson Idris, and Kerry Condon.

Update, November 16:

An F1 spokesperson says that whatever changes to have affected Hollywood with the strike do not impact the film, which is still on track for a 2025 release. Movie sponsors have not changed and all footage they have is usable. Shooting will continue through to 2024, in keeping with the F1 schedule.