Cast and Characters (F1) F1

The ensemble of F1 (2025) blends professional actors with real Formula One drivers, team principals, and commentators — all playing themselves within the fictional story of APXGP's fight for survival.

Sonny Hayes — Brad Pitt

A former Formula One prodigy whose career ended in a catastrophic crash at the Spanish Grand Prix chasing Ayrton Senna.^b131 Thirty years later, Sonny races sportscars under the radar — winning the 24 Hours of Daytona — before being recruited back to F1 by his former teammate Rubén Cervantes.^{b3 b5} At 61, he is the oldest driver on the grid, carrying the scars and tattoos of a life spent racing.²

"This would be the first movie to actually put actors in the cars to go up against real drivers — something never seen before onscreen." — Brad Pitt, The Hollywood Reporter (2025)

"'Just trust the car' became a constant mantra for me. This experience has been unlike any high I've ever known." — Brad Pitt, The Hollywood Reporter (2025)

Pitt trained extensively before filming, testing Formula Three and Formula Two cars at Paul Ricard in France under Lewis Hamilton's guidance. He drove the modified APXGP cars himself at racing speeds on real circuits — there was no stunt driver for the cockpit shots. (wikipedia)

Joshua Pearce — Damson Idris

APXGP's hotshot rookie driver, young and ambitious, who views Sonny's arrival as a threat rather than an opportunity.^{b7 b8} Joshua trusts data and telemetry over instinct, creating a generational clash with his older teammate.^{b10 b12} His arc moves from arrogance — ignoring Sonny's radio call to wait for the straight at Monza and crashing into the barrier, deliberately driving into Sonny at Spa^{b17 b22} — to mutual respect and ultimately loyalty, when he turns down a Mercedes seat to remain with APXGP.^b38

"I grew up playing football as well, so I know what it means to want to prove yourself in an athletic world." — Damson Idris, The Hollywood Reporter (2025)

"I pathetically created a fake character on the F1 game and won the championship." — Damson Idris, The Hollywood Reporter (2025)

Idris was cast in April 2023 after a lengthy audition process. Like Pitt, he drove the modified F2 cars at real Grand Prix circuits. (wikipedia)

Kate McKenna — Kerry Condon

APXGP's technical director and the brain behind the team's engineering upgrades.^{b8 b19} Kate is the axis around which the team's technical and emotional lives turn — she builds the "combat" upgrade that faces an FIA forgery challenge, convenes the post-Spa team meeting that defuses the Sonny-Joshua feud, and becomes Sonny's romantic partner.^{b19 b24 b26 b29}

"Kerry Condon's character arc — discovering herself through connection rather than being 'discovered' — receives particular attention." — Sam Adams, Slate (2025)

Condon won the IFTA Film & Drama Award for Best Supporting Actress for the role. (wikipedia)

Rubén Cervantes — Javier Bardem

APXGP's owner, Sonny's former teammate, and the man who recruits him back to Formula One.^{b4 b53} Rubén is the emotional center of the team's front office — a true believer who risks everything on the gamble that his old friend can still drive at the highest level. His faith in Sonny is the engine that starts the story.

Peter Banning — Tobias Menzies

An APXGP board member running a long-game sabotage operation. Banning pushed for Sonny's signing — and the board "thought you'd help us lose" — making the team vulnerable to outside acquisition.^{b9 b28} He forges the documents the FIA uses to disqualify Kate's combat upgrade, and offers Sonny a post-sale strategy chief / team principal role to walk away.^{b28 b29} The corporate villain of the piece.

Kaspar Smolinski — Kim Bodnia

APXGP's team principal, managing day-to-day operations on race weekends while Rubén handles the business side. Smolinski occupies the practical middle ground between the team owner's optimism and the board's skepticism.

Supporting Cast

Actor	Character	Role
Sarah Niles	Bernadette Pearce	Joshua's mother
Will Merrick	Hugh Nickleby	Sonny's race engineer
Joseph Balderrama	Rico Fazio	Joshua's race engineer
Abdul Salis	Dodge Dauda	Chief mechanic
Callie Cooke	Jodie	Pit stop tire gunner
Samson Kayo	Cashman	Joshua's cousin/manager
Simon Kunz	Don Cavendish	Sports commentator
Liz Kingsman	Lisbeth Bampton	PR agent
Luciano Bacheta	Luca Cortez	Reserve driver
Shea Whigham	Chip Hart	Racing team owner (Daytona)

Real Formula One drivers appearing as themselves

The film's unprecedented production arrangement — embedding the fictional APXGP team into real Grand Prix weekends — meant that actual F1 drivers appear throughout the film as themselves: Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz Jr., Fernando Alonso, George Russell, Oscar Piastri, Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, Sergio Pérez, Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen, Nico Hülkenberg, Yuki Tsunoda, Lance Stroll, Alexander Albon, Zhou Guanyu, Esteban Ocon, Liam Lawson, Jack Doohan, Logan Sargeant, Franco Colapinto, Oliver Bearman, and Nyck de Vries.

Hamilton also served as a producer on the film, advising on technical accuracy and helping convince the paddock to cooperate with filming.

"There was some hesitation within the sport initially — there's never been a feature film shot during a racing season before." — Lewis Hamilton, The Hollywood Reporter (2025)

Real F1 team principals appearing as themselves

Toto Wolff, Christian Horner, Guenther Steiner, Zak Brown, Frédéric Vasseur, James Vowles, Lawrence Stroll, and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali all appear in the film. Commentary is provided by real Sky Sports F1 broadcasters Martin Brundle and David Croft.

"Toto came up with the idea of starting with a race car, then working the cameras that you need into that." — Joseph Kosinski, Motorsport.com (2025)