‘F1' Is Pretty Good, Better Than Most Hollywood Motorsports Movies
The new Formula 1 movie, "F1," which opened June 27 and stars Brad Pitt, is pretty good. Most Hollywood movies about motorsports leave much to be desired, some of them almost comical.
The action on tracks like England's Silverstone, Italy's Monza and Japan's Suzuka, is thrilling and, in some ways, representative of F1 racing. And the list of authentic folks who helped with the movie, including seven-time Formula One World Driving Champion Lewis Hamilton, is impressive. There's even a short appearance by F1 legend Sir Jackie Stewart.
The film opens with a sequence at Daytona International Speedway. Aging racer Sonny Hayes (played by Pitt) is participating in the Rolex 24 Hours Of Daytona. I have driven on that track many times, giving rides with the NASCAR Racing Experience as recently as last week. I know pretty much everything about the asphalt surface, including where the seams are. Right away, it was obvious it was shot for real at the speedway.
After winning at Daytona, Pitt is asked by an old friend and former Lotus racing partner Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), now the owner of the struggling APXGT race team, to return to F1 as a forty-something-year-old man. Pitt had left F1 three decades years earlier after a crash at the Spanish Grand Prix that nearly killed him.
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - NOVEMBER 23: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes looks on at the Mercedes GP Team Photo during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit on November 23, 2023 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by) Getty Images
When Pitt agrees reluctantly to return, there is tension between him and his cocky younger F1 teammate, Joshua Pierce (Damson Idris) as you might imagine. It takes Pitt awhile to get his chops back and to earn the respect of his team, but he does after wrecking a few cars and mastering the complex new car technology.
Eventually, an understanding develops between the teammates to work together to win races. As unorthodox as their methods are on the track, they nevertheless help propel the team from back-markers to running mid-pack. This reckless approach may have worked in the movie, but, in reality, AXGPT would have been kicked out of F1 early in the season for such antics. Along the way, a romance develops between Pitt and crew technical director Kate McKenna (Kerry Condon). Had to, right?
I won't ruin the ending, but it's the typical 'come from behind" Hollywood storyline that the audience knows all too well. It's immensely entertaining, though, what with unexpected plot twists in upper management, whether to sell the team or not at the end of the season, Pitt's gambling, Mexico's Baja 1000 and more.
As for the driving, Pitt looks fairly solid. Hamilton has even gone on record to confirm that. But know this: Pitt is not driving real F1 cars, as implied in the flick, just gussied up F2 cars, still formidable in their own right.
AUSTIN, TEXAS - OCTOBER 20: Mario Andretti looks on in the Paddock prior to practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit of The Americas on October 20, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by) Getty Images
Formula 1, by far the most popular motorsports series in the world, has never really caught on in the U.S. since American legend Mario Andretti won the Formula One World Driving Championship in 1978. F1 plays fourth fiddle to IndyCar, NASCAR and the NHRA despite staging major races at Indianapolis, Austin, Miami and Las Vegas. 'F1' the movie should help narrow the gap. I know I picked up a few things watching it, and that makes me more interested in F1 as a series.
Andretti seems to agree. 'It's a very entertaining movie with great casting,' he says. 'It's an excellent promotion for Formula 1.'
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