F1: Can A Veteran Win A Formula 1 Race?

F1 The Movie (2025/USA) is a heart-warming tale about a Formula 1 Race Car driver, Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) and the APXGP F1 team. Remarkably, Sonny returns to the highly competitive F1 race track after a lengthy gap of three decades. Now, can this ageing race car driver find a way to reach the podium finish?

But Sonny is not alone in this arc of redemption tale. There is Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), owner of a struggling APXGP F1 team. Then, the technical director Kate McKenna (Kerry Condon) and her high-tech team. Lastly, there is a rookie F1 driver Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), who is unable to live up to his promise.

F1 The Movie:- Can A Veteran Win A Cut-Throat Competitive Formula 1 Motorsport Race, Where Only The Young & Fastest Have Won?

F1, which stands for Formula One, is the premier global competition for single-seater, open-wheel, and open-cockpit auto racing, sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The word "formula" refers to the comprehensive rules that all teams and vehicles must adhere to, and the sport encompasses a series of international races, known as Grands Prix, that determine the annual Drivers' Championship and Constructors' (Teams') Championship. 

Notably, Formula One originated as a World Championship competition in 1950, with the inaugural race taking place at the Silverstone Circuit – a site that was formerly a Royal Air Force station – in the United Kingdom on May 13 of that year. The number of races in a Formula One season may vary as a result of the FIA (World Motor Sport Council) sanctioning schedules that range from the minimum threshold of 8 races to the present maximum of 24, with alterations frequently driven by logistical, financial, and sustainability objectives.

Spoiler Free Review of the F1 The Movie (2025/USA)

The introduction

F1 is a niche and premier motor sport. Some of my friends are dedicated fans of this modern-day F1 sport. They enthusiastically follow every F1 race happening in every calendar year. And to be honest, we are not much of an F1 fan; instead, we follow the popular sport, Football. But this “FI The Movie” changed me. Now, we are beginning to look at “Formula One” in a new light. It is a hell of a team sport. Both the man (Formula One race driver) and the machine (Formula One race car) literally join hands to push the limits of speed and endurance on a race track. The young drivers have advantage, as F1 drivers need peak physical fitness.

In their racing car endeavour, the Formula One drivers are supported by devoted teams of specialists. They usually consist of the Team Principal, the Technical Director, Race Engineers, Specialist Mechanics, Race Strategists, Pit Stop Crew, Factory & Support Staff, etc. In the 21st century, cutting-edge technology is really pushing the envelope. As to how fast the man and machine can drive (in mph or kmph) on a race track. In less than a century, Formula One racing has come a long way. Only a hard-working team are making it possible. So, no wonder we have a newfound respect for the team sports of Formula One.

But without a driver like Sonny Hayes, team APX GP was suffering

We learned early in the movie that the Formula One “APX GP” Team owned by Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem) was in distress. Both on the race track as well as off the race track, APX GP was struggling big time. So, in an act of desperation, Ruben seeks out his old friend Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) and offers him an incredible opportunity to race for his F1 team. In a way, it was a win-win scenario for both of them, Ruben and Sonny. However, the big question was whether Sonny Hayes is physically fit and motivated enough to go through the grind, to win a Formula One race, at least once in his lifetime.

A Formula One driver, Sonny Hayes, comes out of retirement to mentor and team up with a younger driver, Joshua Pearce.

F1 The Movie | The Paddock Showdown | Full Movie Preview | Warner Bros. Entertainment |YouTube

But there are two other key players in the mix, too. The first one is young driver Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), who is initially threatened by the arrival of Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) in the team. And the second one is the technical director Kate McKenna (Kerry Condon), who is in charge of making the superfast F1 race cars.

Kerry Condon's character, Kate McKenna, who serves as the first female technical director of the Formula One APX GP team in the film, is inspired by Bernie Collins, a former female strategy engineer from Northern Ireland.

What a great effort by the entire team

Lest we forget, this film’s cast comprises two Oscar winners, Brad Pitt and Javier Bardem, as well as one Oscar nominee, Kerry Condon. All 4 of them, Brad Pitt, Kerry Condon, Damson Idris, and Javier Bardem, have given powerful performances in the movie. And Brad Pitt’s on-screen presence is awesome. He is equally matched by Kerry and Damson. Besides, Javier was good in his limited screen time. The rest of the ensemble cast played their roles well. Furthermore, the “F1” (2025) motion picture reunites 5 prominent crew members from the “Top Gun: Maverick” (2022) movie – director Joseph Kosinski, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, screenwriter Ehren Kruger, cinematographer Claudio Miranda, and composer Hans Zimmer.

Brad Pitt, along with Damson Idris, executed all their own driving, with speeds soaring to 180 mph (or about 288 kmph).

And all 5 of them have done an excellent job in their respective fields, once again. Moreover, the film also has an emotionally moving script to keep us invested in the underdogs. In case you have watched it on the big screen, then you will appreciate top-class background music and cinematography in this action-packed feature film. Not surprisingly, while watching this high-octane racing car movie, we could feel the adrenaline rush. It was as if the cockpit of the fighter jet had been replaced with that of an F1 car. This kind of immersive movie experience is simply exhilarating to watch.

The conclusion

And we all know the answer to the question – will the bottom-rung team of APX GP become an unlikely winner in a fierce car race? Oh yes, the sports story of the F1 movie is simple and predictable. But the star power of Brad Pitt and others makes it entertaining. Then, the 5 crew members of the film made it a touching human tale. We enjoyed this heart-warming film about a team of so-called dark horses, who never give up. They fight against all odds. And just when everyone writes them off, they rise like a phoenix and emerge as a champion.

FM Rating

FM Rating of the F1 The Movie

4.00/5

Poster

Key Details

Genre	Action, Drama, Sports
Original Languages	English
Duration	2 Hours 35 Minutes
Writers	Ehren Kruger & Joseph Kosinski
Director	Joseph Kosinski
Music Composer	Hans Zimmer
Cinematographer	Claudio Miranda
Editors	Stephen Mirrione & Patrick J. Smith
Main Cast	Brad Pitt (Sonny Hayes), Damson Idris (Joshua Pearce), Javier Bardem (Ruben Cervantes), Kerry Condon (Kate McKenna), Sarah Niles (Bernadette), Tobias Menzies (Peter Banning), Kim Bodnia (Kaspar Smolinski), Abdul Salis (Dodge), Callie Cooke (Jodie), Samson Kayo (Cash), Ramona Von Pusch (Liesl Smolinski), etc.
Production Co	Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Plan B Entertainment, Dawn Apollo Films
Distributor	Warner Bros. Pictures

Trailer & Synopsis | Official

Dubbed “the greatest that never was,” Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) was FORMULA 1’s most promising phenom of the 1990s until an accident on the track nearly ended his career. Thirty years later, he’s a nomadic racer-for-hire when he’s approached by his former teammate, Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), owner of a struggling FORMULA 1 team that is on the verge of collapse. Ruben convinces Sonny to come back to FORMULA 1 for one last shot at saving the team and being the best in the world. He’ll drive alongside Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), 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 that in FORMULA 1, your teammate is your fiercest competition—and the road to redemption is not something you can travel alone.

Also, read the Review of the Gran Turismo (2023) Movie, another car-race film, in our Focus Magazine.

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Poster and the Featured Image of the F1 The Movie (2025/USA) are credited to Warner Bros. Pictures.