F1 the sport may be garnering mixed reviews in 2026, but F1 the movie is still going from strength to strength, with the film up for several Oscars at the Academy Awards being held today (AEDT), including for best picture.

Formula 1’s first official foray into cinema was backed by director by Joseph Kosinski and legendary producer Jerry Bruckheimer, the same combination behind Top Gun: Maverick, and starred Brad Pitt and Damson Idris.

F1 was a box-office smash hit, raking in US$633 million (A$905.9 million) worldwide to become the ninth-most successful film of 2025 by ticket revenue. It’s the highest grossing film of Brad Pitt’s career and the highest grossing motorsport movie ever made. It’s also the highest grossing film ever produced by Apple.

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The 155-minute epic was received generally favourably by critics, with scores of 68 on Metacritic and 82 on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences reviewed the film even more highly, according to both aggregator websites.

It’s already won several awards, including for best sound at the British Academy Film Awards and the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards.

Today it’s up for the biggest prize in cinema: best picture at the Academy Awards. It’s also up for the Oscars for film editing, sound and visual effects.

Lewis Hamilton, one of F1’s producers, had planned to be in Los Angeles for the awards, but the Chinese Grand Prix, which finished just before 8pm (AEDT) last night, made the plan impossible to pull off.

“I’ve looked at every way to get there in time, but unfortunately I can’t get there,” Hamilton said in Shanghai, per ESPN. “But I’ll FaceTime with Joe and Jerry when they’re there, which will be cool.

“I’m incredibly proud, and I never ever thought in a million years that that would be the outcome of the work that we’re doing over the past years.

“It’s amazing to see. I don’t know if it’s the sport, but to see how much promotion there is around the world, to see the buzz, to see new people getting excited for the sport, in the way that so many of us were growing up.

“It’s really great to see that that is expanding. On top of that, I’m still here, still to be a part of it and witness it.”

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In February, Bruckheimer told the BBC that a sequel was in the works, though he offered little additional detail, and Apple has yet to confirm plans for a follow-up film.

But Hamilton, speaking at last week’s Australian Grand Prix, said the project had already got underway last year.

“We are already working on the first script,” he said. “We had our first meeting at the end of the year — me, Jerry and Joe — talking about different ideas, different directions that we could go with the script, and then with Erin, we’ve had plenty of meetings on it.

“It’s been amazing to see how big an impact it’s had, how many people have loved the movie. I’m still getting texts from people who are only just watching the movie and how it’s opened their eyes up to what this sport is about, and it’s sent them down a rabbit hole trying to understand it more.

“It’s really exciting. I’m super excited. Now I’ve been through it — and it was already very intense the first time — now I’m used to it, so I know what to expect, I know what we could do better.

“Sequels often aren’t always great. We’ve got a great team, got a great cast, great writer, so I’m not concerned about that, but we’re going to take our time and make sure we get it just the way it needs to be.”

Alonso retires with vibration issues | 00:23

F1 was shot in the real Formula 1 paddock over multiple seasons and featured several cameos from real drivers and team bosses, some of whom got minor speaking roles. Even Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali made an appearance in the final scenes.

Hamilton, though, said he had no desire to be in front of the camera, seeing his future, including after retirement, behind the scenes.

“I’ve had loads of opportunities to be in movies,” he said. “I really like the idea of being in the background. It was an amazing experience, and it’s so much more enjoyable than actually being on camera.

“I really admire actors, the craft. It’s such a hard business to be in, and to take on these characters is such a challenge. I don’t know if that’s something I’d be particularly great at.

“I’ve had a couple of really cool experiences, like doing Cars 2 and getting to do voiceovers, which was fun, but I’m planning on producing lots of different TV shows, documentaries and movies.

“I have a lot in the pipeline, so I’ll probably be focused on that rather than actually being on camera.”