Keanu Reeves' Formula 1 documentary gets November release date

The Matrix and John Wick star Keanu Reeves' Formula 1 documentary has got its first trailer.

Keanu is fronting a four-part series titled Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story. The documentary tells the remarkable story of Brawn GP's against-the-odds F1 triumph and premieres globally on November 15, streaming on Disney+ in the UK and Hulu in the US.

The actor is joined by key players as he narrates an account of Brawn and Jenson Button's 2009 title-winning season. Interviewees include Button, who won his one and only drivers' championship with the team, his then-teammate Rubens Barrichello, and Brawn GP's CEO Nick Fry.

The trailer for the miniseries opens with Keanu speaking about his lengthy "fascination" with motor racing, and describing Brawn's story as one that "barely seems believable".

The series also features Ross Brawn, owner and team principal of the Brawn GP team, and his rival team boss Christian Horner, the long-serving team principal of Red Bull Racing.

"The best way to become unpopular very quickly is to start winning," Horner remarks in the trailer, and when he appears to nickname Brawn "the smiling assassin", Keanu counters by saying: "I think you're all smiling assassins!"

The trailer also teases contributions from controversial former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, as well as former Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo, who had previously worked with Brawn.

Brawn GP's foundation came about when the former Honda Racing team opted to withdraw from Formula 1 at the end of 2008.

With hundreds of jobs on the line, Brawn – who was previously an instrumental part of Ferrari's success with Michael Schumacher – led a consortium which bought the team. The reported cost of the purchase? A symbolic pound – which Keanu and Brawn address briefly in the trailer.

With a much smaller development budget than their Formula 1 rivals, minimal sponsorship to start the season, and only customer support from engineer manufacturers, Brawn GP dominated the first half of the 2009 season.

As rivals Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari used their larger budgets to step up their development and gain the upper hand, Brawn – who weren't able to upgrade their cars in the same way – hung on to secure a drivers' title for Button and the team's one and only constructors' championship.

The filmmakers have also been granted access to Formula 1's broadcast archives, including previously unseen footage, to tell the story of such a remarkable season.

"I am honoured to be a part of telling the incredible story of Brawn GP and their remarkable F1 Championship Season in 2009 with those who lived it in this four-part documentary series," said Keanu when the series was announced.

"It has been great to have the support of Disney+ and producing partnership with North One to bring this story to life."

Since the team's triumph, Brawn later became Formula 1's managing director of motorsports and technical director, and a key part of the organisation's senior leadership. He retired from motorsport in late 2022.

Button moved to McLaren, staying with them until his retirement in 2017, and is now a regular contributor on Sky Sports F1 and a consultant to his first F1 team, Williams. He has also recently been driving in the NASCAR Cup Series, and took part in the world-famous 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race earlier this year.

Mercedes bought Brawn for the 2010 season and built the team up to become dominant through the sport's hybrid era. It won every constructors' title from 2014 until 2021, the last season before a major regulations change. Lewis Hamilton has also won six of his record-equalling seven drivers' titles with Mercedes.

Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story follows in the footsteps of Netflix's international hit reality documentary series Formula 1: Drive to Survive, which is currently filming its sixth season.

Elsewhere, Hamilton is working on a documentary series for Apple and has also teamed up with Brad Pitt for a movie set in the world of Formula 1, describing his key responsibilities as "making sure that the cast and the crew in the background is diverse" and acting as a storyline consultant.

Hamilton, who previously confirmed he had to turn down a role in Top Gun: Maverick due to his F1 commitments in a title-winning season, added: "It's really about showing how great this sport really is, to people that maybe have never watched it – but also making sure that we really keep the real heritage and the true racing spirit within the movie, and within the script."

The movie's ensemble cast features Pitt, Damson Idris, Javier Bardem, Kerry Condon and Tobias Menzies, while Top Gun: Maverick's Joseph Kosinski is directing.

Meanwhile, AlphaTauri driver Daniel Ricciardo is going to be an executive producer on a half-hour fictional scripted series for Hulu which he's compared to Ballers and Entourage.

"It is fiction, but I'll try to give as much input that it stays on course and doesn't go too far away with people like, 'OK, this would never happen like that'," Ricciardo said when the news was announced.

"I'm going to try and give the best advice I can when I can."

Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story will premiere on November 15, streaming on Disney+ in the UK and Hulu in the US.

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