Review – F1: The Movie

Joseph Kosinski is a man with big ideas, from Tron: Legacy, Oblivion, and Top Gun: Maverick, Kosinski always applies ambitious concepts to larger-than-life characters. So when I heard that he was making a movie about Formula One racing, I knew this would be special, but I was totally unprepared for what would follow.

Content Guide

Violence/Scary Images: Characters get into a brawl. One racer crashes and nearly dies.

Language/Crude Humor: Repeated uses of h-, d-, a-, s- and one use of f-.

Drug/Alcohol References: Alcohol is consumed responsibly in social settings, though there is one joke about getting drunk. Smoking is depicted.

Sexual Content: Multiple crude references as well as a brief sex scene (no nudity).

Spiritual Content: None.

Other Negative Content: The main character has a cavalier attitude towards relationships. Unethical business practices are part of the plot.

Positive Content: A movie that emphasizes doing something because you love it and not for all of the fluffy ‘stuff’.

F1 is about an old racer named Sonny Hayes who lives his life as a drifter. He has genuine skill, but never stays in one place long enough to actually build a life or a career. When Sonny is approached by an old friend, who is in deep financial trouble and asks for Sonny’s help, he enters the world of Formula One racing, the most difficult class of racing in the world. 

Watching F1 is a glorious experience, devoid of any politics or problematic ideologies. From the opening scene, Brad Pitt races as Led Zeppelin blares in the background, as if making a statement about what is to come. Brad Pitt brings his swagger and charisma to the character of Sonny Hayes. Javier Bardem brings his grounded persona, and yet can’t seem to curb his own enthusiasm in doing this movie. Honestly, everyone here, regardless of screen time, looks like they are having the time of their lives. 

The racing scenes are the greatest I have ever seen, and I know what I’m talking about. I’m a passionate fan of racing sequences in movies from the Fast & Furious films (which are really just adult cartoons) to the James Bond car chases. And I’m here to tell you that Kosinski has masterfully beaten them all. With a mix of incredible cinematography and adrenaline-fueled racing, watching the race sequences are a delight. Some of the camera angles are so good, I truly felt like I was in ESR’s seat, in a way that even Forza Motorsport captures. 

I also genuinely appreciate the homework the production crew put into this movie. There are references to the great racers of the past, Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumaker. The current champ, Lewis Hamilton, makes a brief (and I do mean brief) appearance. The movie manages to capture all of the fine details of Formula One racing without ever becoming tedious. There’s even a reference to the Netflix series Drive to Survive. This is significant because it was this docu-series that caused a whole new generation to discover and love Formula One. I’m impressed the scriptwriters understood all of this and put it into a cohesive whole.

This is not just a ‘guts and glory’ sports movie. Sonny Hayes is a bit like a Western cowboy; he wants to live his life with no abandon, outrunning the mistakes of his past. Damson Idris does an equally brilliant job playing the ambitious and foolish racer, Joshua Pearce. Joshua is young and talented, but filled with so much ego and ambition that he gets in his own way. A lot of the movie is spent with Sonny attempting to teach young Joshua what he needs to know in order to become a true champion.

All of this is just fluff really compared to the real meat of the film. This is not a movie about a man longing for fame and riches. At his core, Sonny Hayes loves racing for its own sake. He doesn’t care for awards or recognition. In one pivotal scene he shares that all he wants to do ‘is fly’. This is a movie about pursuing who you are and what you love to do, racing is just the really cool backdrop.

I cannot even begin to really describe how much fun this movie is. I absolutely loved every single second of watching this. Thrilling, emotional and gripping, F1 is a true masterpiece. It’s not just the greatest racing movie I’ve ever seen, it’s the best sports movie as well. I give this my highest recommendation and urge you all to see this.