Max Verstappen on how "F1" movie and "Drive to Survive" have changed American fandom

Four-time Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen can see the impact that the F1 movie has had on the championship's popularity in the United States.

While the Dutchman could easily walk in public in various cities in America before the likes of the F1 movie and Netflix's Drive to Survive, he can no longer do that without being recognised.

"I remember like 2018, 2019... I did a bit of a road trip around LA and then all the way to San Francisco and in the middle," Verstappen explained in an interview with Apple TV. "You could walk around, and you would barely be recognised. I would say now in the US, you definitely get recognised more and that's a good thing.

"I mean, people are more involved in the sport, and definitely, you can see that the fans are increasing. Also, when you go to the race weekends in town, it's really busy."

Since its release in June 2025, the F1 movie has exceeded $630million at the global box office, and as a result of its success, a sequel is already in the works.

"We're working on a sequel," F1 movie producer Jerry Bruckheimer told BBC.

"It was a long journey to get the movie made because we had to endure a couple of strikes – but in the end, the movie entertained audiences around the world," he said of F1 at the Academy Awards luncheon in Los Angeles. "I never worked with Brad Pitt before and it's really a thrill to work with Brad."

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Mark Thompson / Getty Images

Director Joseph Kosinski also confirmed that conversations about a sequel to the movie were underway in November 2025. 

"We're in that stage of just kind of dreaming up what that next chapter for Sonny Hayes would be and for APXGP," Kosinski explained to Variety.

"But, you know, based on the reaction from around the world to this movie, it's something that people wanna see and I'd be happy to go back and do it because we had so much fun making this one."