What we know about Brad Pitt's F1 movie

It's been a year since Brad Pitt was seen watching some racing at COTA just days ahead of the US Grand Prix. The Oscar-winning actor was in Austin as early reports about him taking on a role in an upcoming Formula One movie began to emerge.

At the time, Pitt was an onlooker and just taking in the scene at the F1 event, but since then, he's done training for the role of a race car driver and filmed portions of the movie.

Here's what we know about the project now.

Brad Pitt's F1 movie filmed in part at 2023 British Grand Prix

In early July, Pitt was at the British Grand Prix to film part of the movie, with the atmosphere and props of an F1 race being best to utilize from a real event as opposed to building from scratch or via computer generated-imagery (CGI).

The Athletic reported that the film allowed for eight time slots to allow the crew “filming activity (high speed)” for the movie. This gave them about 20 minutes per slot to film sequences likely to be in the movie. None of these sequences including cars racing one another.

Behind these sequences is director Joe Kosinski, who recently directed "Top Gun: Maverick," which put the audience right in the cockpit of fighter jets.

“I spent time with Joe trying to make sure that we got the best camera positions, and the frame rate is different,” he told The Athletic. “It’s going to look fast.”

More: Glen Powell is one of the best parts of 'Top Gun: Maverick.' First, Austin helped him soar

Is this new F1 movie called 'Apex'? Brad Pitt seen wearing 'APXGP' racing suit

As of this writing, the film's IMDB page calls the project "Untitled Formula One Racing Movie," but noted below it's also known as "Apex." A science fiction film of the same name was released in 2021.

Apple has not announced the film's name, but while filming at the British Grand Prix, Pitt was seen wearing an "APXGP" racing suit. Those letters appear to symbolize the name of the fictional team featured in the movie.

An F2 car carrying that logo was also seen that weekend.

What's the plot of this Brad Pitt F1 movie? What role will Lewis Hamilton, Damson Idris and Javier Bardem play?

The film's IMDB page identifies Brad Pitt's character as "Sonny Hayes." At the British Grand Prix, Pitt told Sky Sports' Martin Brundle his character suffers a crash and returns to the track years later. He does so at the behest of a team owner played by Javier Bardem, whose character's name hasn't been released.

Racing on that team is Damson Idris, who plays the character of Joshua Pearse. The British actor portrayed Franklin Saint on the TV series "Snowfall" over six seasons.

The Athletic notes that stunt drivers will be driving the F1 cars, but that Pitt and Idris underwent private training in preparation "for the cars' physical demands."

The IMDB page lists Lewis Hamilton in the cast, but doesn't include the F1 driver's role. As noted, Hamilton is a producer on the film with his production company, Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Plan B Entertainment involved, too.

Tobias Menzies ("The Crown") and Kerry Condon ("The Banshees of Inisherin") are also among the cast, but their roles have yet to be disclosed.

SAG strike put brakes on Brad Pitt F1 movie

Just days after the British Grand Prix, the SAG-AFTRA strike began, putting a halt to several Hollywood projects. The F1 movie was filming at the Hungarian Grand Prix at the time and took a "two-month hiatus" shortly after the strike started.

With the strike ongoing, it's unclear when the movie will resume production.

The Hollywood Reporter outlined that financial shares would be split between Apple, the studio behind the film, and the filmmakers in a 50-50 split. Citing unnamed sources, the outlet said the big bet on the movie could land Pitt $40 to $50 million in revenue.

We don't have know a release date for Brad Pitt's F1 movie by Apple

Before the strike, Yahoo UK forecast the film would come to theaters in late 2024 or early 2025.

With the strike stretching over three months and counting, it's unclear what changes to the filming schedule let alone what the movie's approximate release date will be.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Brad Pitt F1 movie: Release date unknown amid actor's SAG Strike