Best F1 movies: feature films, documentaries and series

Every film and series in one table

The table lists films and series about Formula 1 in order of release. “Yes” in the last column means the story is about real people and events; feature films with fictional heroes are marked separately.

Feature films

Of the four films in this section, only “Rush” is based on real events. The others have invented heroes, although “Grand Prix” and “F1” were filmed during real races.

“Grand Prix” (1966)

Directed by John Frankenheimer, starring James Garner and Yves Montand. The characters are fictional, but filming took place during the 1966 championship, including in Monaco and at Monza. Real drivers appear on screen, among them Juan Manuel Fangio, Jack Brabham and Graham Hill. The film won three Oscars: for editing, sound and sound effects.

“Bobby Deerfield” (1977)

Directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Al Pacino. It is the story of an American Formula 1 driver racing in Europe, with a screenplay based on a novel by Erich Maria Remarque. The hero and the plot are fictional.

“Rush” (2013)

Directed by Ron Howard and written by Peter Morgan, with Chris Hemsworth as Hunt and Daniel Brühl as Lauda. The film is about the rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda in the 1976 season.

In the real season, Lauda retired from the German Grand Prix on 1 August after a crash at the Nürburgring, and six weeks later he finished fourth at Monza. It all came down to the finale in Japan: Lauda retired, Hunt finished third and won the title by one point, 69 to 68.

“F1” (2025)

Directed by Joseph Kosinski, starring Brad Pitt and Damson Idris. The APXGP team and their drivers are fictional, but the film was shot during real championship events, together with Formula 1, the FIA and the ten teams. Lewis Hamilton was one of the producers. On 15 March 2026 the film won the Oscar for Best Sound.

Documentaries

There are six documentaries on the list, and all of them are about real people and seasons. Here they are in order of release.

“Weekend of a Champion” (1972)

Directed by Frank Simon and produced by Roman Polanski. The film follows Jackie Stewart at the 1971 Monaco Grand Prix, and Stewart won that race for Tyrrell. In 2013 Polanski presented a new version at Cannes with an epilogue in which he and Stewart meet again in the same hotel room forty years later.

“Senna” (2010)

Directed by Asif Kapadia. The film is made entirely from archive material — race footage and home videos — without the usual on-screen interviews. It follows Ayrton Senna through Formula 1 and his rivalry with Alain Prost, and ends with the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. It won two BAFTAs: Best Documentary and Best Editing.

“1” (2013)

Directed by Paul Crowder. The film is about the most dangerous years of Formula 1 and how safety in the sport changed.

“McLaren” and “Williams” (2017)

Two films about team founders came out in 2017. Roger Donaldson’s “McLaren” is about the driver Bruce McLaren and his team, still racing in the championship in 2026. Morgan Matthews’s “Williams” is about Frank Williams and his team.

“Schumacher” (2021)

A Netflix film directed by Hanns-Bruno Kammertöns, Vanessa Nöcker and Michael Wech. It covers the life and career of Michael Schumacher, the seven-time world champion.

Series

Two of the series are documentaries; the third is a drama with actors.

“Formula 1: Drive to Survive” (since 2019)

A Netflix documentary series: each season shows the previous championship from the inside — the teams, the drivers and the bosses between races. The first season came out on 8 March 2019, and by September 2026 there were eight.

“Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story” (2023)

A four-part Disney+ series about Brawn GP, who won both championships in 2009, their only season: Jenson Button became world champion and the team took the Constructors’ Championship. It is presented by Keanu Reeves and directed by Daryl Goodrich.

“Senna” (2024)

A six-episode Netflix drama series directed by Vicente Amorim and Julia Rezende, with Gabriel Leone as Senna. The story runs from karting and his first races in England to Imola in 1994.

Films often mistaken for F1

These films are about motor racing too, but not about Formula 1.