Four things we learned from the final Brad Pitt F1 movie trailer

The final trailer for the incoming F1 film starring Brad Pitt and Damson Idris has hit movie theaters and phone screens all around the world — and we have some more insight into what the plot of this film might involve.

Now, we know the broad strokes: That Sonny Hayes (Pitt) is a veteran making his F1 return in order to help his younger teammate — but this new trailer helps us understand how the producers will bring that storyline to life.

The Brad Pitt F1 movie hinges on new school vs. old school racers…

From the start, we’ve known that the F1 film will hinge on one key concept: A long-since-retired racer returns to Formula 1 in order to help hone the talents of a young but inexperienced rookie. But this final trailer provides us with more details.

We see Sonny Hayes (Pitt) training at home and on the street — jogging past the team headquarters and down the Las Vegas Strip. We see him working out beside his bed, which he uses to balance his head for neck strengthening exercises. He turns up to team debriefs in a t-shirt.

On the other side of the coin is Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), a young gun who seems to be the epitome of the modern racer. He’s smartly dressed in the latest fashions, decked out in oxygen masks as he trains to optimize his performance.

These are small details, but they do a lot of heavy lifting in showing viewers that these men are from two different worlds.

… But those racers don’t exist in real life

Formula 1 drivers are a diverse breed, and during the F1 2025 season in particular, we’ve seen generational talents like Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso square off with a new generation of rookies in compelling fashion.

The teammate relationship evidenced in the F1 trailer, though, doesn’t really mimic any existing relationship on the grid.

“I think it’s really wonderful that Apex are giving second chances to the elderly,” says Idris’ character Joshua Pearce during what looks to be a press conference announcing Sonny Hayes as joining the team.

That’s followed immediately by another clip of Hayes saying, “That’s alright. You’re just worried I’m quicker than you.”

And that’s followed by Pearce’s character saying, “You’re making a mistake, thinking that I’m just gonna be some grateful kid who’ll bend a knee to an old-timer.”

While F1 drivers may not always get along, there is almost always a huge amount of respect among the small selection of men who have had a chance to drive in the sport, no matter their level of success.

That seems to be particularly true of younger drivers, who seem to pay respect to their elders regardless of whether or not they consider themselves friends in real life.

More on the Brad Pitt F1 film:

? Brad Pitt F1 movie: Cast, release date, Lewis Hamilton involvement and more

? Brad Pitt F1 movie: An insider’s complete guide to the F1 film

Brands take center stage in the Brad Pitt F1 movie

Brand logos are a defining factor of ultra-expensive modern motorsport, but something about the brands adorning the APXGP machines feel particularly in-your-face.

Several entertainment publications, including the AV Club, have pointed out the sheer amount of companies getting airtime during a brief teaser: Expensify, Ninja, Shark, Aramco, MSC Cruises, you name it.

These are fairly normal appearances for seasoned motorsport fans, but the “Average Joe” audience appears to be particularly caught out by the preponderance of brand names — and what those brands might mean.

“If you’re worried about Pitt or Idris’ characters dying,” Emma Keates writes in the AV Club, “let this be some solace: Salesforce and Expensify probably wouldn’t put their names on something that upsetting.

And that could become a particularly pressing concern when we consider the other thing this new trailer taught us…

The Brad Pitt F1 movie is obsessed with death

Everyone who follows motorsport knows that death is always right around the corner, though there is admittedly some solace in knowing that series like Formula 1 have been extremely proactive in making safety advancements to prevent death from striking.

It doesn’t quite seem like the new F1 movie trailer got the memo.

Amid shots of cars crashing, flipping, and lighting on fire, team owner Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem) asks, “How do you think I feel if you die on the track?”

Every trailer thus far has flirted with danger and death, which implies that this will be a key element of the film.

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