“F1” A Compelling and Exhilarating Film That Must Be Seen on the Big Screen

If you’re not familiar, Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one of the world’s premier forms of motorsport since its inaugural running in 1950 and is often considered to be the pinnacle of motorsport.

A Formula One season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix, which take place in multiple countries and continents on either purpose-built circuits or closed roads.

Dubbed “the greatest that never was,” Sonny Hayes was Formula One’s most promising phenom of the 1990s until an accident on the track nearly ended his career. Three decades later, he’s a nomadic racer-for-hire when he’s approached by his former teammate Ruben Cervates, owner of a struggling Formula 1 team that’s on the verge of collapse.

Ruben convinces Sonny to come back for one last shot at saving the team and being the best in the world. He’ll drive alongside Joshua Pearce, the team’s hotshot rookie intent on setting his own pace.

But, as the engines roar, Sonny’s past catches up with him and he finds out that in Formula 1, your teammate is your fiercest competition - and the road to redemption is not something you can travel alone.

“F1” is one of those film’s that’s a definite must see during the summer movie season. You don’t have to be someone who’s familiar with or follows Formula One or Grand Prix racing (like myself) to have a great time watching this movie!

While a little bit of the plot can be just a tad predictable here and there, the incredible racing sequences and the technical brilliance really makes up for the plot’s predictability. The film also delivers incredible camera work and impressive visual

effects.

“F1” really delivers on the promise of high-octane racing and the crash sequences that are scattered throughout are amazingly realistic. All of the racing scenes are really exciting and shot incredibly well. There are times during the races where we get POV shots of the drivers which is really one of the major highlights of this movie as it puts us right in the driver’s seat in a way!

The racing sequences are incredibly edited, which helps elevate the pace and the intensity of the races. A lot of the race sequences are adrenaline-fueled and quite thrilling. The movie also dives into some of the technical aspects of Formula One racing, which is also one of the intriguing elements of this movie.

Now, even though the story can be a little predictable (like I stated before), the filmmakers found a way to still make the story captivating and made us care about the journey of the characters we follow - Sonny Hayes and Joshua Pearce. Their journey together involves Hayes mentoring the rookie which has been done quite a bit in other movies. Yet, still the filmmakers still made their journeys both heartwarming and inspirational.

Another highlight of “F1” that really helped the film stand out, especially with the race scenes, is the brilliant musical score by Hans Zimmer. His score blends electronic tones with orchestral swells and it helps add to the excitement of the races and the journey of the characters.

“F1” is an exciting movie to check out and is one of those movies that HAS to be seen on the big screen, Even if you’re not a fan of racing, you’ll still enjoy this movie!

Cast: Brad Pitt (Sonny Hayes); Damson Idris (Joshua Pearce); Javier Bardem (Ruben Cervantes); Tobias Menzies (Peter Banning); Kim Bodnia (Kasper Smolinski); Sarah Niles (Bernadette); Will Merrick (Nickleby); Kerry Condon (Kate McKenna).

Writer/director: Ehren Kruger (writer) (Top Gun: Maverick; Ghost in the Shell; Transformers: Age of Extinction); Joseph Kosinski (director) (Top Gun: Maverick; Netflix’s Spiderhead).

MPA: Rated PG-13 for strong language, and action   (runtime 156 minutes)

You can also find some intriguing trivia bits on my Facebook page for this movie! Make sure to keep on checking my Wyoming County Press Examiner reviews page on Facebook for updates of what I will be checking out on the review front. 

For the next edition, I will be wrapping up my “Jurassic” review series with a revisit of the “Jurassic World” trilogy, continuing on with my “Superman” review series with “Superman III” and “Superman IV,” “Jurassic World: Rebirth” and a couple recent indies “Living” and “Dreamin’ Wild.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yh9BPUBbbQ

• Brad Pitt was paid $30 million, the biggest salary of his career.

• Filming took place during various Grand Prix weekends during the 2023 and 2024 seasons, during the weekend of the British Grand Prix in July 2024 at Silverstone, UK. A garage was set up for the fictional Formula 1 team, and this garage was set up between the garages of the Mercedes and Ferrari teams, this garage was used to film various scenes along side a pit wall setup where characters would direct the fictional race from, this setup was also used in various European rounds of the F1 season.

• According to an interview with producer Jerry Bruckheimer, it took a year to convince both the FIA (organizer of the F1 races) and the 10 teams, to be able to film the actual F1 teams and drivers on the actual tracks during actual race weekends. A concern by the Red Bull team was that they would probably be depicted as the villain given that the Mercedes team built the car for the movie and then Mercedes driver Hamilton was added as a producer to the movie. Bruckheimer convinced them with the script, promising that neither the FIA nor any of the actual teams would be put in a bad light.

• A private screening was held at the Cannes Film Festival for the drivers of the 2025 season.

• Joseph Kosinski said they had over 5000 hours of footage and they had almost 2 years to edit because of the strikes which allowed them time to get it right.

• Brad Pitt has long been an avid fan of auto racing. Pitt was originally set to star alongside Tom Cruise in "Go Like Hell" with Joseph Kosinski directing, but the project fell apart due to budget reasons and later became Ford v Ferrari (2019). Pitt has since produced and narrated the MotoGP documentary Hitting the Apex (2015). In 2016, Pitt had the honor of taking a lap around the circuit before starting the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France.

• Brad Pitt and Damson Idris did all their own driving, at speeds up to 180 mph.

• Forbes estimated that the film made $40 million from sponsorships and brand deals.

• The film was originally proposed as a sequel to Days of Thunder (1990).

• Like Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), Napoleon (2023) and Argylle (2024), this film will release in theaters nationwide before streaming on Apple TV+. This is the first Apple original film to be theatrically released by Warner Bros.