Will Apple bet on Formula 1 once again?

PublishedSeptember 17, 2025 7:50 PM EDT•UpdatedSeptember 17, 2025 7:05 PM EDT

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I saw the movie F1 right when it hit theaters, and while there were parts that made me cringe a little (Brad Pitt saying, “We need to build our car for combat…”) and others straight up confused me (How were there nine races left in the F1 season after the 24 Hours of Daytona which happens in January, before the F1 season even starts?) I enjoyed it.

And I don’t think I was alone, because the movie has grossed more than $600 million and is the highest-grossing film of Brad Pitt’s career, and the biggest hit that Apple Studios has ever had. 

So, it only makes sense that a sequel would be tantalizing, and Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed this week that it is very much on the table.

“I don’t know, but it is definitely something that is being talked about,” Cook told Variety. “It’s been such a huge summer blockbuster for us. We’re so proud of it.”

This comes as Apple is reported to be making a push toward grabbing Formula 1 US TV rights, so you can understand why they’d be keen on continuing to ride the Formula 1 wave.

While I think the idea is smart, there are a few things that I would argue make it not as much of a no-brainer as it might seem.

For starters, the movie cost quite a lot of time and a whole lot of money to make and was shot at some real F1 races over the course of a couple of seasons. That helped create a sense of realism, but will everyone want to go through that kind of trouble again?

Secondly, would Brad Pitt even want to do it? I think his involvement certainly helped the film get attention and got a lot of non-F1 fans in the door. If he’s out, you need another start to take the lead.

And what would a sequel even be about? There are plenty of directions to take the story, but do you make it about the same fictional team, APXGP, or a new team? Maybe you do a prequel?

And lastly, what do you call it? Because you definitely can’t call it F2. That’s obviously the name of a different series. It would be like doing a movie about the NASCAR Cup Series and calling it Xfinity Series.

I’m not sure whether I think Apple will try to make a sequel. I think it’ll be hard for the company to turn down a sequel to the biggest box office hit it ever had. However, it will need to make sense financially before they put all that time and money into it.