“Mayer on guitar, Grohl on drums. A lot of fun making this”: Ed Sheeran forms an unlikely hard rock power trio with John Mayer and Dave Grohl – and they've written a song for a Brad Pitt movie

John Mayer, Ed Sheeran, and Dave Grohl have formed an unlikely power trio for a song that will be featured in Brad Pitt's forthcoming racing film, F1.

A clip of the track, due for release in cinemas on June 27, has been shared on Sheeran’s Instagram and confirms the surprising lineup of musicians, with Grohl behind the kit, and Sheeran and Mayer (presumably) sharing six-string duties.

Going off the tease, it represents something of a departure from Sheeran’s typical acoustic guitar sonic direction, with a thick, fizzing guitar riff – the safe bet is it's from Mayer's hands – giving it a suitable 'driving song' quality.

“Sneak peek of the song I did for the F1 movie,” Sheeran’s post reads. “Mayer on guitar, Grohl on drums. A lot of fun making this, coming out next month with the movie x.”

Grohl holds a sturdy beat down, and there are flashes of Sheeran’s chart-smashing melodic sensibilities with the vocals, despite the edge that Mayer’s riffwork provides.

It feels like they’ve gone for the kind of ‘top down, foot to the floor’ style of song that racing games have been full of over the years, and with EA Sports involved in the film, it’s easy to see why.

It isn’t, however, the first time the two guitarists have linked up. In 2023, Mayer joined Sheeran on stage for a more virtuosic version of Thinking Out Loud.

Brad Pitt and Javier Bardem are among the cast for the movie. Filming took place during several prolific racing events and at some of the world's most famous tracks, including Monza in Italy, Silverstone in the UK, and the Las Vegas Strip circuit. Seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton is also listed as one of the film’s producers.

Hans Zimmer has been revealed as the film's composer. An accompanying LP, F1 the Album, will be released at the same time. Drive features on it, alongside songs from Doja Cat, Chris Stapleton, and Dutch DJ Tiësto.

It adds to an already eventful year for both guitarists. After having a street performance shut down by the police, Sheeran then gave a loop pedal masterclass to Jimmy Fallon.

Sheeran’s solo catalog is expected to be injected with a serious dose of heavy soon, too, with his surprise collaboration with Cradle of Filth expected this calendar year.

Mayer, meanwhile, has just wrapped his second Dead & Company residency at the Las Vegas Sphere, a run of dates that came after breaking several fingers forced him to reapproach his playing. He’s also been spotted playing a digital amp modeler at Coachella – in this case, a Neural DSP Quad Cortex – and has hinted that Dead & Company might record new music together.