F1 is eye candy for big people

F1 – 2025

Director Joseph Kosinski
Screenwriter Ehren Kruger
Starring Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Kim Bodina, Javier Bardem, Tobias Menzies, Kim Bodina

There are two sorts of people likely to watch F1. Some love formula one racing. Others like seeing a grizzled Brad Pitt gracing the screen. For the former group, there is plenty enough visuals to give one the feel of racing. The sound and fury of the engines battling the elements is better than any racing film I remember watching, since Ford v Ferrari.

For the latter, Brad Pitt as driver Sonny Hayes is magnetic as ever. He spends the film ruffling the feathers of nearly everyone he meets. Then he charms the socks off of everyone, too. His primary target: team APXGP technical director Kate McKenna (Condon).

Hayes is a nomadic driver who can still win a race now and then. His most recent win at 24 Hours of Daytona brings him back into contact with a former rival. This rival is now team owner Ruben Cervantes (Bardem). Ruben convinces him to join his flailing team, which has gone 3 years without a win. They have 9 races before the team will be forced to sell.

Hayes will be teamed with talented rookie Joshua Pierce (Idris). Of course they clash at the start. Through a few races that end in variously unfortunate ways, they begin to work together, reluctantly.

Meanwhile, Hayes is pushing McKenna to develop a car. The car needs to pass on turns. This development essentially transforms it into a “combat mode.”

In the midst of their push forward, they must battle internally to create a new team atmosphere. Fortunately there is no external nemesis made into a phantom to counter the team. The work to be done is a battle inside the team. The other drivers are just announced as names familiar to those who have watched F1. This viewer noticed Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton but my experience is limited.

For this viewer, there is more exposition than necessary for flow. The film could lose about 20 minutes and still get the points across.

The effects, much like Kosinski’s last film Top Gun: Maverick, are peerless. If you want to experience being in a Formula One car in a race, watch this movie. It also lets you see behind the scenes in a team to an extent previously not experienced.

(**** out of *****)