Oscar-nominated racing opus F1: The Movie looks increasingly likely to get a sequel. “Stay tuned,” says the CEO of Formula 1. F1: The Movie was a sizeable gamble for Apple and its partners, with a budget somewhere north of $200m. But with a box office of over $600m and now four Oscar nominations – including, ... F1: The Movie | Apple and Formula 1 execs tease sequel
Oscar-nominated racing opus F1: The Movie looks increasingly likely to get a sequel. “Stay tuned,” says the CEO of Formula 1.
F1: The Movie was a sizeable gamble for Apple and its partners, with a budget somewhere north of $200m. But with a box office of over $600m and now four Oscar nominations – including, rather confusingly, Best Picture – the racing driver can be chalked up as a success.
There have been rumours of a sequel for a while, but a number of stars have to align again in order for that happen – and we don’t just mean movie stars. F1 was made with the full involvement of the Formula One Group, which gave access to tracks, livery, racing drivers, in-race footage and so forth.
A sequel would require both Apple and the F1 Group to agree to work together again – and that’s before Brad Pitt’s brought back. He received a reported salary of $30m for the first movie.
The boss of F1, Stefano Domenicali, is certainly making positive noises about a racing follow-up, though. At an Apple press event in Los Angeles on the 3rd February, Domenicali made an appearance, where he fielded questions about this year’s racing season, which will stream on Apple TV in the US.
“Stay tuned,” the CEO said when asked about an F1 sequel (via The Hollywood Reporter). “We’re going to tell you something more in the future. Never say never. But we need to digest more the success of this movie because it was something unique. And if you want to think of a new one, it has to be really, very, very good.”
Domenicali then said that any future movie won’t happen all that quickly, but added “Maybe next year we’re going to be here, and hopefully we have something more to announce.”
In other words, Apple may decide to formally announce F1: The Sequel Movie (as we’ll call it for now) at another press event in 2027.
F1: The Movie told the heart-warming story of a washed-up driver (Pitt’s Sonny Hayes) helping an underdog racing team to F1 victory, often via unethical driving behaviour and outright recklessness.
Read more: F1: The Movie review | Fast, furious and lots of product placement
It was all glossily entertaining, even if it was essentially an exercise in corporate branding; F1 has long struggled to find a mass audience in the States, and the film serves as a handy primer for those unfamiliar with the sport, much like the hit reality TV series Drive To Survive before it. (Some of the dramatic moments in F1: The Movie appear to have been directly inspired by incidents captured in that series.)
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Having Formula One stream on Apple TV also gives the tech giant the chance to advertise its products. As in last year’s film, iPhones will be used to capture the races from certain angles, as plugged by Apple exec Eddy Cue at that press event.
“We’ve got all these new experiences,” Cue said. “We’re going to use iPhones in places that you’ve never been able to put a camera. This is just the beginning of an incredible partnership that we’re working on together.”
The Apple-Formula One partnership is an ongoing one, then, which means a movie sequel will happen sooner or later.
“We’re moving the sport in a different cultural dimension,” Domenicali said. “It’s a matter of expanding our content.”
