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The recent release of the F1 film starring Brad Pitt has drawn attention not just for its cinematic qualities but also for its unconventional funding approach. Podcaster Marques Brownlee recently highlighted how Apple, which produced the film, incorporated sponsor branding into the film to help offset its production costs, earning an estimated $40 million through planned product placements.
According to Forbes, the movie's production team aimed to be authentic to the real-life commercialized world of professional F1 racing. That meant landing several real-world companies such as Expensify, Geico, and SharkNinja to back the fictional team, APXGP, in the movie. Their names were printed on Brad Pitt's driving overalls, helmets, and cars, just like a real sponsorship deal.
During a July 11 episode of Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast, hosted by YouTuber Marques Brownlee, with Andrew Manganelli and David Imel, Brownlee praised Apple's product placement in the film, stating,
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"Apple, they produced this movie. They sold sponsorships of these actual companies who paid to be in the movie and have their logos on the car, on the helmet, on the suits. This is so smart. So, they made millions of dollars of just branding."
Apple's F1 movie generates $40M in brand deals
Industry observers noted that these sponsorships served dual purposes: they made movies more realistic and profitable; the $40 million sponsorships contributed to the film, helping offset a sizable chunk of the estimated $300 million production budget.
Traditional F1 sponsorships are large in scale, with front-wing positions starting at approximately $5 million per year and title sponsorships costing $100 million or more. Meanwhile, film product placements usually come in between $250,000 and $1 million, offering brands exposure at a fraction of real-world motorsport marketing costs.
As reported by Forbes, the team's title sponsor, Expensify's CEO, David Barrett, told the outlet that his company also registered some tangible returns from the partnership, seeing its stock trading volume jump from 540,000 to 17.7 million shares following the trailer. Other contributors developed tie-in products, including IWC’s limited-edition watches and Tommy Hilfiger’s racing-inspired line of clothing.
Veteran product-placement producer and CEO of Hollywood Branded, Stacy Jones, called F1 "the most difficult movie ever made in Hollywood for brand partnerships."
“This was the beast of all beasts, the most difficult movie ever made in Hollywood for brand partnerships. It has broken any understanding of what product placement can actually do. It’s never happened to this degree before,” Jones told Forbes.
The production team also faced unique challenges in balancing authenticity with commercial requirements. Product placement producer David Leener described it as exceptionally complex, due to limitations to prevent the film from competing with current F1 partners or Apple-connected brands.
The approach appears successful commercially, with the film grossing over $300 million worldwide.
F1 was released in theatres on June 27, 2025.
