In “F1,” a snazzy piece of blockbuster engineering, Brad Pitt plays Sonny Hayes, a devotee of fast cars, beautiful women, and simple living. A professional gambler and occasional speed demon for hire, he drags his beat-up van from racetrack to racetrack.
Strapping himself into a car at Daytona International Speedway, he applies just the right proportions of velocity, swagger, and insider know-how to hint at a once-great racing career. About thirty years ago, Sonny was an ascendant Formula 1 star—cue many hilarious, grainy video clips of a younger Pitt sporting a golden mullet—until a near-fatal accident ended his rise. That crash happened during an attempt to overtake Ayrton Senna, the three-time world champion whose death in 1994 at San Marino lends this fictional film a jolt of gravitas.
While invoking an actual legend adds weight, the film expects you to believe that beneath the slick paint job of crowd-pleasing fiction whirs a tough, reality-driven engine. For many, it may also stir memories of the documentary “Senna” (2011), one of the finest racing films ever made.
Does It Reach the Finish Line?
“F1” is hugely enjoyable and astoundingly well made. Whether it ascends to the same pantheon as “Grand Prix,” “Le Mans,” “Days of Thunder,” or “Rush” is a question best left to posterity and committed motorheads.
Much like those predecessors, “F1” is an epic of male aggression and redemption. At the urging of old rival Ruben (Javier Bardem), Sonny reluctantly returns to Formula 1, driving for APXGP, a battered team barely competitive with Ferrari and Mercedes.
Sonny strides onto the track with his trademark unruffled cool, enduring press conferences where journalists dismiss him as a has-been. He isn’t much of a team player—and neither is his hotheaded young teammate, Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), who refuses to defer to the veteran comeback kid.
Familiar Formula, Fresh Twists
Underdog sagas and generational clashes are nothing new, nor are head-turning female love interests. However, this time the woman is Kate (the superb Kerry Condon), APXGP’s technical director, who understands the hardware better than anyone on the team.
Again and again, “F1” finds fresh pathways into familiar material, keeping its surface unpredictable even though the big-picture trajectory feels inevitable.
At nearly every race—Silverstone, Monza, Francorchamps, Las Vegas, Abu Dhabi—Sonny manages to rejigger the rules, irritating Joshua and the entire team. According to him, the secret to success lies in looseness, spontaneity, and paradoxical thinking: setbacks are advantages, penalties bring opportunity, and a terrifying crash can hold the key to victory.
“Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast,” Sonny tells the mechanics.
This tortoise-and-hare logic also describes the film’s pacing—both patient and brisk. The editing, by Stephen Mirrione, has a hyperkinetic elegance. The faster the cuts, the more convincingly the action coheres. Meanwhile, Claudio Miranda’s cinematography alternates between dazzling eagle-eye track views and claustrophobic closeups—sometimes all you see is a driver’s fist clenching the wheel.
Familiar Aesthetic, New Purpose
Joseph Kosinski, who debuted with “Tron: Legacy,” brings some of that film’s sleek monochrome aesthetic to APXGP’s white-on-white, Apple Store-inspired world. His most relevant credit remains “Top Gun: Maverick,” which did for Tom Cruise what “F1” tries to do for Pitt: craft a grand Hollywood throwback about high-stakes mischief and mentorship that reaffirms the star’s charisma.
Despite these ambitions, the film slackens when it pauses for Sonny’s misty-eyed introspection. He’s never more expressive than behind the wheel—and this is no time for a Pitt stop.
In Summary
“F1” is a gleaming, adrenaline-charged spectacle—part sports drama, part character study—and a reminder that even familiar formulas can still feel fresh with the right cast and craftsmanship. Whether it will earn a spot alongside racing cinema’s greats is uncertain, but it’s a ride well worth taking.
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