Several team bosses have shared their excitement about the upcoming F1 movie following the release of a new trailer this week, with many confident that the film can mirror the “transformative” impact of Netflix’s Drive to Survive.
Ahead of its highly anticipated release in June 2025, the latest teaser of Apple Original Films’ F1 has given fans a thrilling glimpse of what is to come in the motion picture, which stars Brad Pitt and Damson Idris as drivers at the fictional APXGP team.
REVEALED: Check out the global artwork for the new ‘F1’ movie
Hours after the new footage dropped, the team principals attending Friday’s press conference at the Australian Grand Prix were asked for their thoughts on the movie and the potential effect it could have on the sport as a whole.
Williams’ James Vowles – who jokingly suggested that a cameo he filmed on the grid in Abu Dhabi might have been “cut” from the movie – compared the potential impact to that of Drive to Survive, the hugely popular Netflix series that recently produced a seventh season.
“Netflix has been transformative – and it’s not because they are filming over there in the corner,” said Vowles. “They really have transformed who we are as a sport and where we are today in the business, and we wouldn’t be the business we are without them.
Vowles, Vasseur and Cowell all showed their support for the upcoming ‘F1’ movie during Friday’s press conference in Melbourne
“My opinion is that the film will open us to a different and larger market, and that’s why we’re all excited about it. From what I’ve seen in the trailers, especially when you sit and watch what they have been doing with it, they’re doing everything to make it look like there’s not an extra gear they’ve added or an accelerator you can push harder.
“They’re fundamentally trying to replicate our sport in film, and that’s what I connected to when I went through it.”
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Ferrari chief Fred Vasseur took a similar stance to Vowles, with the Frenchman hopeful that F1 can continue to draw in new fans.
“As James said, I’m already convinced Netflix helped a lot over the last years,” Vasseur commented. “If you go back to 2018 or 2019, F1 was absolutely not in the same shape. Netflix helped us massively on this journey, and I hope this movie will do the same because it’s the best way to attract new audiences.
“F1 today is targeting a new audience – more female, younger – the same as what we had with Netflix. And from the quality of what I’ve seen so far, it was something magic. It’s good.”
Watch the thrilling new trailer for Apple Original Films’ movie ‘F1’
Aston Martin’s Andy Cowell also praised the recent F1 75 Live launch event as providing a new method of reaching fans.
“I agree with these two. The work Netflix has done has made these two celebrities!” Cowell quipped. “The O2 launch as well, a different style of event, a different way of reaching people.
“So [these] events [and] entertainment, in addition to the 24 races, provides that opportunity to reach a broader cross-section of people, and it’s the business we’re in, so [we] completely support it.
“I’m looking forward to seeing [the film]. I think there’s a preview coming up that we’re all going to go along and watch.”
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