F1

Written by Nicole Cabrera


There are few things in this world that match the notion or primal itch of going fast- reaching far past the speed humans are comfortable with and entering something beyond whether it be by air,sea or land. Fortunately, director Joseph Kosinski has conquered the art of the air through previous film Top Gun: Maverick and now has set his gaze on the track In the film F1 The Movie where Kosniski hopes to achieve that; as he tackles the “need for speed” with Brad Pitt in the driver’s seat.

F1 The Movie sees an amalgamation of the talented sport of Formula One racing, under the watchful eye of some the greats like Lewis Hamilton, F1 looks at the story of Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) a older and “washed up” driver who has been out of the limelight and off the main racing tracks for almost three decades.Hayes lives like a nomad, living out of his van, moving racing event to racing event as a driver -for- hire before moving onto his next destination. That is, until one day his old team Ruben Cervantes (Jarvier Bardem) reappears in his life with a big proposition: he wants Sonny to come test race on his team APX-G for the last spot. His team which has yet to win a race and Ruben himself is in dire financial straits trying to keep afloat. After some pressure and the reassurance that Sonny will get to fulfill the F1 dreams that never happened in his youth, the older driver eventually agrees.

Sonny is quickly introduced to the APX-GP team and a colourful cast of characters which is some of the films best strengths- With Pitt bringing his best Cliff Booth-esque nature to the effortlessly cool, if a bit fish out of water character to Sonny contrasting with Joshua Pierce (Damson Pierce) his rookie teammate, who’s brash, hotheaded and insecure. Kate McKenna (Kerry Condon) technical director brings level headedness to the team and a surprising amount of heart. Joshua and Sonny seem to butt heads almost right away; with Joshua (quickly given the nickname JP) seeing Sonny as a has-been, while Sonny sees him as young and inexperienced. Sonny gets off to a rough start; with the team members not seeing what Ruben sees in Sonny’s ability: some start- stop crashes- doesn’t help Sonny’s case, as the veteran driver struggles to catch up to the more modern technology. Despite this, when push comes to shove Hayes shows he has the racing spirit even if it takes him a bit to get started.

F1is enough of a rush for cinematic thrill seekers, particularly those who may not be searching for more than technical entertainment.

Thus starts the rocky collection of races- with Sonny and JP struggling to find their stride as a team. Almost right out of the gate,Sonny is hitting Joshua in their England race after not letting him pass; but as they train they find a bizarre loophole, enforced by Sonny known as “Plan C” (for chaos). This helps APX-GP move up in standings due to Sonny constantly crashing his car, delaying the race and helping Joshua sneak by and get the team’s first points. Little by little, that team’s comoradiary begins to take root with the pit crew adapting to Sonny’s more old school training by joining Sonny on his runs while Sonny tries to adapt to Joshua’s modern virtual training and also improve their vehicles by pestering Kate; much to her annoyance.

The team peace however is short lived, as JP at the Italian Grand Prix after trying to overtake Max Verstappen -ignores Sonny’s advice to wait for a straight, causing him skid out of control in a horrific fiery crash. Sonny rushes in to save his teammate- Josh thankfully escapes with minimal injuries (hand burns) but he does have to miss a few races. While JP is out, APX-GP seems to get stronger and move up in the competition earning several points -despite the tragedy; meanwhile JP begins to stew in resentment against Sonny as he heals.

The on and off tension between Sonny and Josh hits a breaking point, as the younger driver purposely crashes into Sonny at the Belgian Grand Prix the minute they return to the track- leading to a huge blowout. Kate, not one to be deterred, set up a friendly game of poker trying to mend fences and get the two men to see they have more in common than they think. Both men find that they share a similar upbringing and have that spark for racing- that need to fly- as a result, they quickly settle on a competition: whoever wins their poker match gets to lead in the next race. Sonny, despite his background in gambling lets JP win, settling the tension between them. As the night wraps up- the growing attraction sparks between Sonny and Kate’s flirtatious relationship finally take flight as well, leading to a passionate night.

APX-GP can't seem to catch a break,as they’re accused of having upgraded their car with illegal parts, effectively banning their new and improved car. The hits keep coming, as Sonny drives angry in their next race- combined with missing his trademark deck of cards leads to his own crash and a hospital stay as a result; Sonny’s old injuries comes to light because of this- a crash in his youth had completely impaired him leaving him with gnarly scar and back full of pins and plates and the conclusion he’s been driving with a hazard to himself for years. As a result, Ruben fires him from the team for his own safety. To add insult to injury, it is revealed one of the board members orchestrated the complaint and is trying to bring the team down from the inside.

As Abu Dhabi and the final race is looming, APX-GP is in ruins, with Sonny gone, Josh seems to rise to the occasion taking what the other driver had been trying to impart on him and admits his own crash was not caused by Sonny. Sonny meanwhile convinces Ruben to let him race as Kate gets her original car back in her hands. JP and Sonny now working as a team, collaborate and plot to not only get the race delayed to get their tires changes and buy themselves time but also show their skill in strategy and speed. While Sonny tries to help propel JP to victory by having Hamilton block him and giving JP a clear path to victory; he instead causes their own collison- giving Sonny the chance to complete his dream he never had a chance to complete all those years ago of his F1 victory. After the deserved victory, it isn’t long before Sonny is called back to the road chasing the thrill of the race and adventure.

While the film soars in visuals, its story is at times lacking; it follows the usual paint by numbers of fall and rise of washed up loser character to winner. Unlike other sports movies that focus too much on the story and not enough on the sport- F1 has the opposite problem, the story is simple and paper thin at times and could have used some more flushing out. Likewise, in true Hollywood nature, not everything about this intense sport is accurate- with Hayes having so many crashes he would have surely missed races.

F1 at its core is a film that carries elements of the pulse rising and adrenaline filled sport that is racing in Formula 1- Kosinski excels on a visual level,- F1 truly is a film that benefits from the biggest screen and sound system possible- the camera work is one of its greatest strengths is its cinematography, captured with grace and ease by Claudio Mirnada it excels at doing it's best to put the audience in the driver’s seat with all its sharp twists and turns of the track, the claustrophobia of the driver’s seat, even the subtle beauty of the tracks themselves. Moreover, Kosinski does an excellent job of presenting F1 as its own rich ecosystem of customs,he puts strong emphasis on the danger of the sport and how strategic it truly is; it's clear he has a deep appreciation for the sport as there are numerous homages to famous races and even crashes (such as Hamilton’s own crash with Nico) and filled to the brim with famous drivers and F1 personal like Max Verstappen and Toto Wolff. F1 as a film brings the heart of racing to the front and excels at showing why this fast paced sport has so many dedicated fans and hopefully with this film will gain many more.


Nicole Cabrera is a Toronto-based film enjoyer with a passion for the eighties, horror, and deep diving their favourite actors’ obscure filmography. When they’re not watching movies, they're writing, crafting, cosplaying, going to concerts, working on their podcast (Hollywood Deepdive) and dreaming of traveling.