Brad Pitt reveals why Tom Cruise stepped back from 'Ford v Ferrari'

Brad Pitt has just now dished the surprising reason behind Tom Cruise’s decision to step back from Ford v Ferrari.

The duo was supposed to play the lead roles of Ken Miles and Carroll Shelby respectively. But Cruise backed out from starring in the car racing movie.

Speaking to The National, the Fight Club actor said, “Tom and I, for a while there, were on ‘Ford v Ferrari’ with Joe [to direct]. This was about 10 years before the guys who actually made it – and made it a great movie.”

The story of the 2019 movie revolves around the intense rivalry between Ford and Ferrari in the world of 1960’s motorsport, particularly the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race.

Revealing the reason, Pitt continued, “What it came down to is that we both wanted to drive, and [Tom] wanted to play Shelby, and I wanted to play Ken Miles. And when Tom realized that Carroll Shelby would not be driving much in the movie, it didn’t come through.”

Meanwhile, the 61-year-old actor candidly discussed the potential reunion of the duo for the F1 sequel, while promoting his recently released movie.

Before concluding, Brad Pitt shared, “I’m not sure how that’s going to work [in a potential ‘F1‘ sequel], but we’ll give it a go. I’d love to.”

F1 was released on June 23, 2025.