Producer Jerry Bruckheimer has confirmed that a sequel to F1: The Movie is in the works.
Apple and Warner Bros. collaborative effort on the Grand Prix adventure starring Brad Pitt was a box office smash and is a surprise nominee for Best Picture at the 2026 Oscars.
Still, Film News Blitz’s Dan Lawrence thought it was a dud and has ways to make the sequel a much better offering.
Why ‘F1: The Movie’ is getting a sequel
It really should come as no surprise that Bruckheimer told the BBC at the Oscars luncheon in Los Angeles that, “We’re working on a sequel [to F1].”
After the Hollywood strikes delayed filming, F1’s release in cinemas last year was met with fanfare.
Pitt’s star power and an unparalleled access to a rapidly growing global motorsport collided in box office harmony, and F1 went on to gross over $650 million worldwide.
The technical achievement of F1 is worthy of applause, and the film has justifiably been nominated for Oscars in editing, sound and visual effects.
However, a nomination for Best Picture is a stunning surprise.
What’s wrong with ‘F1: The Movie’?
F1: The Movie fails on multiple fronts.
First, for motorsport fans, it fails to serve them appropriately, misrepresenting the sport it worked so hard to capture with reality.
There are several mistruths and falsehoods portrayed that go beyond standard Hollywood-ifying of a sporting property, which means if F1 did convert an audience member into watching the real thing, they wouldn’t recognise it.
Second, the plot is cheap and by the numbers.
Third, having the lead female character design the star car of the film, only to be told by Pitt’s character Sonny Hayes how to do the job better, before an eventual and underbaked one-night stand, doesn’t scream progressive storytelling.
How to fix things for the ‘F1: The Movie’ sequel
Honestly, Pitt’s Hayes riding off into the sunset of F1: The Movie is the best thing for the sequel.
His story is done, and let’s face it, 60-year-olds can’t conceivably hack it in Formula 1.
However, Damson Idris is oozing in star power and his character, Joshua Pearce, deserves to take the limelight in the sequel.
Now that the APXGP team can build a decent car, we can also dispense of the crash and bang tactics that infuriated motorsport fans in the original.
But how do we fill the Pitt-shaped hole in the film?
Perhaps, now that Idris’ Pearce is a title contender, a fresh face joins him to mount an immediate challenge for the F1 throne?
This type of storyline underscored a very real title fight in 2025 between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and could allow any one of Hollywood’s rising stars to join the cast.
Tom Holland, Paul Mescal, Timothee Chalamet, Joseph Quinn, the names of mega-star faces that could elevate an F1 sequel are almost endless.
Furthermore, if Idris were to return, perhaps Simone Ashley’s cut character from F1, alleged to be a love interest for Pearce, could make a fully fledged return,
Moreover, with the womanising Hayes out of the way, female engineers at APXGP could have their own agency and drive their own stories.
There are several ways to make a sequel to F1 worthy of the Oscar nomination that has miraculously landed at Bruckheimer’s feet, and with better ingredients, director Joseph Kosinski could easily match his far superior film, Top Gun: Maverick.
The question remains, are Formula 1, Apple and company brave enough to really push the formula?
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