Fast Cars, Fiery Crashes and Fat Checks: “F1” Movie Extravaganza
Emily Cobb | September 9, 2025
If one wanted to see Brad Pitt’s usual acting MO of a macho, lonewolf, shirtless douchebag, then look no further than the summer blockbuster hit, “F1.” Director Joseph Kosinski returns to the screen after a busy few years spent directing major movies from “Twisters” to “Top Gun: Maverick.”
As the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility, and heavy is the crown of managing this many Academy Award winners. “F1” scored a lot of points at the box office, earning $620 million. With stellar graphics that quickly transport the audience into the cars, and an impressive soundtrack by Hans Zimmer, it is easy to be sucked in when pressing play.
Within the first 20 minutes, the audience knows exactly who the main character is. Sonny Hayes, played by Brad Pitt, is a racing driver with a tormented past who bounces around; never sticking in one place, never sticking to one team. We soon learn he once was in F1, one of the highest regarded motorsports in the world, before a crash ended his rookie year. Javier Bardem plays Ruben Cervantes, the charming, intense owner of team APXGP who’s willing to fork over a few million dollars to facilitate Hayes’ return to F1. Still hungering for a long-lost world championship win, Hayes returns. Kerry Condon plays the intelligent technical director Kate McKenna, Damson Idris plays the APXGP rookie Joshua Pearce, and Kim Bodnia plays the APXGP team principal, much like the real-life eccentric former team principal Guenther Steiner.
“F1” is one of the more accurate racing movies, with seven-time world champion driver Sir Lewis Hamilton acting as a producer, along with the inclusion of several driver cameos. As the movie progresses, the character juxtaposition between teammates Pearce, the stylish Brit, and Hayes, the cocky American, helps to drive the story forward. This tension, heightened by Pearce and Hayes’ Silverstone Grand Prix crash, is reminiscent of real teammate relationships F1 is known for, like Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon. As the tension builds and millions of dollars in car damage are racked up, Pearce suffers a fiery crash that is eerily similar to Romain Grosjean’s. Hayes quickly becomes the number one driver, dethroning Pearce and usurping the role of leader within the team. Hey, maybe that’s what happens when you have the charisma of a 60-something-year-old blonde man.
As the movie progresses, we see APXGP move to a “combat” car under the direction of McKenna and Hayes, attempting to bring the team from underdog to dominant. This new car helps create stronger bonds within the team, with Hayes taking out cars (under the unusually blind eye of the FIA) while Pearce places higher and higher. This begs the question: Is he as self-centered as others claim, or is he just haunted by his past mistakes? As McKenna gentle parents the two drivers, the movie reaches its climactic end that is sure to have the audience on the edge of their seats.
Though the movie improved as it progressed, a few things stuck out like debris on a racetrack. There is no denying Hayes is a talented driver; however, F1 is not a sport for “talented drivers,” it is for the best of the best. Hayes’s abrupt reemergence into the sport after a 30-year hiatus is not just miraculous, it’s inconceivable. As much as the FIA, the organization that creates and enforces sporting regulations in F1, may have been lax 30 years ago, its modern presence is one of extreme judgment. Let’s be real, Hayes would have accrued enough penalty points within the first few races to be banned. Most of all, for a movie about one of the wealthiest and exclusive sports, it struggled to reach the levels of real-life drama, heartbreak, and angst typical of the sport. Where was the team rivalry, the name-calling, the snide comments in the press? “F1” has the glamor of the sport without the dark underbelly of loss and anguish.
The issues of “F1” go deeper than just the sporting ones. In our modern, at least nominally feminist age, the Bechdel Test is the bare minimum. Guess what “F1” didn’t pass? Where there is certainly room for the talented female cast to shine, the writing decisions derail it. Having the only female mechanic, Jodie, consistently mess up and having her performance saved thanks to Hayes’s tip about “Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast” treats Hayes as the knight and Jodie as the damsel. The cherry on top was having McKenna throw away her professional boundaries to hook up with Hayes. These events were beyond disrespectful to the real-life women who work in the male-dominated world of F1. This movie had the potential to show the growing female presence in the sport, but instead promoted women as sexual, less capable beings. These issues are worsened by the choice of Pitt as the lead, despite his domestic abuse allegations.
Despite its issues, many will find this movie worth watching, and if one is looking to watch an action-packed sports movie, “F1” is certainly the move. While diehard F1 fans may be disappointed, this is a great stepping stone for casual fans and those who are interested in learning the mechanics of the motorsports world.