No doubt inspired by his time working with Tom “I Do My Own Stunts” Cruise on Top Gun: Maverick, director Joseph Kosinski is going for realism in his new really fast vehicle movie, F1. That means every time you see stars Brad Pitt or Damson Idris driving in the film, “they’re driving on their own in one of these real race cars on a real F1 track,” as Kosinski shared during a trailer launch event in March. It also means that, just like in real Formula One, brands get to plaster their names all over those very real race cars and very real race tracks. It certainly adds to the veracity of the proceedings, but it feels like the film’s latest trailer stars Shark, Ninja, Salesforce, Expensify, IWC, and Aramco (oh my!) just as much as it does Pitt and Idris.
The brands accompany Pitt’s character, Sonny Hayes, as he learns the value of teamwork and relearns the thrill of driving really, really fast. Dubbed “the greatest that never was” (a moniker that has to mess with a guy like that’s confidence), Hayes was an up-and-coming driver in the ’90s until a nasty crash ended his career. That’s until his former teammate, Ruben (Javier Bardem), convinces him to get back in the driver’s seat—literally—to mentor and drive alongside rogue rookie Joshua Pearce (Idris) in hopes of rescuing his struggling team. “But as the engines roar, Sonny’s past catches up with him and he finds that in Formula 1, your teammate is your fiercest competition—and the road to redemption is not something you can travel alone,” the film’s logline concludes.
The new trailer also begs a question that this writer, at least, has asked herself every time she stumbles on a real F1 race: why would anyone willingly choose to do this? Death is just one bad turn away, which certainly adds to the blood-pumping nature of this clip. Regardless of the inherent danger, the sport has gained tens of millions of fans worldwide as well as a whole portfolio of celebrity drivers, one of whom, Lewis Hamilton, serves as a producer on the film. If you’re worried about Pitt or Idris’ characters dying, let this be some solace: Salesforce and Expensify probably wouldn’t put their names on something that upsetting. We’ll see for sure when the film races into theaters June 27.
