The Formula 1 movie starring Brad Pitt has received four nominations at the 2026 Academy Awards, highlighting its box-office success and authentic portrayal of the sport. Directed by Joseph Kosinski and co-produced by Lewis Hamilton, the film grossed over $630 million worldwide after its 2025 release. Nominations span best picture, film editing, sound, and visual effects.
The blockbuster film F1, released in June 2025, has earned acclaim beyond the racetrack, landing nominations in four categories for the 2026 Oscars. These include the coveted best picture, alongside best film editing, best sound, and best visual effects. In the best picture race, F1 competes with Bugonia, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sinners, and Train Dreams. For best film editing, it faces Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, Sentimental Value, and Sinners; best sound pits it against Frankenstein, One Battle After Another, Sinners, Sirat, and Train Dreams; and best visual effects includes Avatar: Fire and Ash, Jurassic World Rebirth, The Lost Bus, and Sinners.
Directed by Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, with executive production from seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton and star Brad Pitt, the movie follows veteran driver Sonny Hayes (Pitt) as he returns to Formula 1 to mentor rookie Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris) at the fictional APX GP team. Filming occurred during actual 2023 and 2024 Grand Prix weekends, incorporating real drivers like Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, and Oscar Piastri for authenticity. Scenes were also shot at three UK F1 team factories and events such as the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Since its summer release, F1 has surpassed $630 million at the global box office and is now streaming on Apple TV. Pitt reflected on the project's origins: “I’ve been trying to get a racing movie done for 20 years... It was Joe and Jerry, just coming off [filming] Maverick, who said, ‘We want to make the most realistic racing movie we’ve seen to date’, and I think that’s what we’ve done.” Kosinski hinted at sequel possibilities in a November 2025 Variety interview: “We're in that stage of just kind of dreaming up what that next chapter for Sonny Hayes would be... based on the reaction from around the world to this movie, it's something that people wanna see.”
The 98th Academy Awards, hosted by Conan O'Brien, are scheduled for March 15, 2026, at 4 p.m. PT in Los Angeles, airing on ABC and Hulu. This marks F1 as the latest sports film nominated for best picture, following predecessors like Moneyball and Rocky, with the last winner being Million Dollar Baby in 2004.
