Staff
The need for speed and redemption are highlights of ”F1: The Movie,” starring the ever-popular Brad Pitt, as washed-up race car driver Sonny Hayes. With a love of auto racing, he has competed in professional races, like 24 Hours at Daytona, but hasn’t competed in Formula 1 since a traumatic accident thirty years prior. When his former teammate, Ruben Cervantes (played by Javier Bardem), comes to recruit him as the ninth choice in a last-ditch effort to save the APXGP team, Sonny is resistant, but his passion for racing wins out.
Teammate Joshua Pearce (played by Damson Idris), a young, cocky driver is not impressed by his older teammate. Hayes has an aggressive style, coupled with street smarts about what the car needs and how to jockey for position. The two are at odds – with one utilizing the latest technology and the other old-school racing around the track. It’s amusing to watch the curmudgeonly Hayes, former gambler and womanizer, who lives in a van, brings the team together as they come to understand and respect each other.
You can feel the adrenaline as the cars race around the track, with footage shot during 2023 and 2024 Grand Prix weekends. The fictional Formula 1 team had a garage set up between the Mercedes and Ferrari Teams and there is footage with actual drivers and team principals. Prior to filming, both Pitt and Idris tested Formula 2 and 3 cars. The car made for the movie was an F2 car with an F1 fitting, made under supervision of Mercedes.
With a rocky start at the British Grand Prix, Hayes then causes chaos on the track at the Hungarian Grand Prix to help Pearce surge ahead and score points. It is fun to see the various tracks at the Italian, Dutch, Japanese, Mexico City, Belgian, Las Vegas, and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix’s. The crashes along the way are harrowing and change the course of the team.
Kate McKenna (played by Kerry Condon) is the first female technical director and Hayes finds it ironic that she rides a bike to work where she is tasked with creating the fastest car. Not unexpectedly after the two collaborate in modifying the car, they end up personally intertwined. All is not as it appears though, as board member Peter Banning (played by Tobias Menzies) sabotages the team.
It all comes down to the last three laps of the final race, which is a lifetime in F1, and a sprint to the finish with tire advantage. I’ll let you see who wins, as you are immersed in the surreal last lap, with cars racing at more than 200 miles per hour. Driving injured, Hayes declares, “If the last thing I do is drive that car, I’ll take that life.”
Director and Co-writer Joseph Kosinski of “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Tron: Legacy” fame is known for striking action films, blending technology and storytelling, which he brought in spades to this film. One of the drivers with name recognition, Lewis Hamilton, was a co-producer on the project and has stressed the commitment to authenticity.
The movie has gotten mixed reviews, and as someone who didn’t know a lot about Formula 1 racing, I learned a few things, most importantly the size and advantages of the team surrounding the driver. My husband who loosely follows it felt that the movie was better for entertainment than an in-depth look at the real world of Formula 1 racing. This film has the advantage of following “Drive to Survive,” the Netflix seven-season series that has popularized Formula 1 racing to a mainstream audience. Vroom! off to see this high-octane film.
Movie times: Click here
Genre: Action, Drama, Sports
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Actors: Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, Damson Idris, Abdul Salis, Joseph Balderra, Kerry, Condon
Running Time: 2 hours and 35 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for strong language and action
