Brad Pitt is known for headline-making performances and box office hits—but his latest role may come with more at stake than a typical film release. The Hollywood star’s new movie F1, produced with Apple and Warner Bros., is not just an action-packed drama set in the world of Formula One racing—it’s also the latest weapon in the sport’s decades-long attempt to win over American audiences.

Formula One, the globally dominant open-wheel racing league, has seen booming interest abroad but has long struggled to secure a foothold in the U.S. Unlike NASCAR or the NFL, F1 has no deeply rooted American history, no marquee U.S. driver, and a schedule geared toward European time zones. But with the release of F1, a film tracking to open domestically to as much as $50 million, the sport hopes to finally shift gears.

“It’s going to be fascinating,” said Patrick Rishe, director of the Sports Business Program at Washington University’s Olin Business School. “You’re taking something that has a very niche clientele and trying to see if you can really make inroads.”

The film stars Pitt as a retired racing driver who returns to the track to mentor a young phenom. Directed by Joe Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick) and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the movie was crafted with unprecedented access to F1 races, teams, and technology—a deal struck after Apple and producers convinced F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali of their vision in a 2022 London meeting.

“I said this could be a very big opportunity for us,” Domenicali recalled. “But the only way to make it real is to ensure it represents our brand authentically.”

That authenticity is central to F1’s latest American expansion strategy. For decades, the sport’s U.S. presence has been fleeting, bouncing from Dallas to Detroit with little long-term impact. Domenicali acknowledges past mistakes: “We were a little bit arrogant in believing that the American fans would understand us without being continuously speaking with the American fans and American audience,” he admitted in a recent interview. “We were coming here for three days, for the weekend, and then going back.”

Now, things are different.

Liberty Media, the U.S.-based conglomerate that bought F1 for $4.6 billion in 2017, has overseen a more aggressive push into American culture. Netflix’s Drive to Survive, the hit docuseries chronicling behind-the-scenes F1 drama, played a pivotal role during the pandemic, dramatically expanding U.S. awareness of the sport. Attendance at races in Miami, Austin, and Las Vegas has surged, and U.S. TV ratings are climbing steadily.

Still, challenges remain. F1 races often air on Sunday mornings in America—prime time in Europe but early hours stateside. The sport also lacks a homegrown superstar to rally behind, as the grid remains largely European and South American. And while NASCAR dominates in rural and Southern regions, F1 has so far been more of a coastal, cosmopolitan phenomenon.

The spectacle, however, is undeniable. At this month’s Canadian Grand Prix, Williams driver Alex Albon exited his car due to an engine failure, walking through stands packed with cheering fans. It was a rare, intimate moment—one that F1 wants more Americans to experience. “We are the only sport that gives so much visibility and opportunity to meet with the drivers,” Domenicali said. “They are our loudspeaker.”

That intimacy, along with the sport’s elite engineering and dramatic narratives, are exactly what F1 the movie tries to capture. Shot at real races with real teams and using modified F2 cars to simulate race footage, the film is a high-octane dramatization of what Domenicali calls the “vibes” that make F1 unique.

To celebrate the film’s premiere, Apple and F1 turned Times Square into a pop-up paddock, complete with all ten teams’ vehicles and bleachers for fans. Pitt, co-producer and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Domenicali walked the gray carpet, turning one of America’s most iconic locations into a Formula One stage.

Still, Domenicali knows that growing American fandom means more than just movie magic.

“We need to educate in the right way, the American fans, to understand what the sport is,” he said. “We need to speak differently, because we need to simplify the selling of this product for new fans.”

That product can be complex. F1 teams enter two cars per race, each with a driver and backed by a corporate sponsor like Red Bull or Mercedes. While individual drivers compete for the World Drivers’ Championship, teams compete for the Constructors’ Championship—a layered system that can confuse new viewers used to clear win-loss records.

The film mostly sidesteps that complexity, focusing instead on character and emotion. And perhaps that’s the key. Just as Drive to Survive drew viewers through personal rivalries and behind-the-scenes intrigue, F1 offers an emotional entry point—one that could draw casual fans into the intricacies of the sport over time.

The timing is also strategic. Liberty Media recently closed on its acquisition of MotoGP, signaling an ambition to dominate global motorsports. With both series in hand—and with cultural megastars like Pitt and Hamilton at the helm—F1 is betting that now, finally, the stars are aligned.

Will the gamble work? For now, all eyes are on the silver screen. If Pitt’s fictional comeback can spark a real-life American love affair with Formula One, the sport may finally have found the engine it’s long needed.