F1® THE MOVIE

by Victoria Alexander

Pitt’s charisma elates the excitement of the sport, and the technology puts you right in the car.

I became a fan of F1 in November 2023, when the Grand Prix was held in Las Vegas and Dutch golden boy Max Verstappen said he felt like a “clown” during the opening ceremony event. He described the race weekend as "99 percent show, one percent sporting event." Compared to the world’s magnificent, dedicated racetracks, the Las Vegas circuit along the Strip is horrible and does not have the grandeur of other racetracks like Monaco or Abu Dhabi.

I’m following the 2025 schedule of 21 countries with 24 Grand Prix weekends.

Unfortunately, for new fans, the commentators are so inside the sport that nothing is explained, only described. I am always looking to Google for what the hell “box” means—and what about that safety car? I do know everything about the tyres.

F1® THE MOVIE, using IMAX technology, really puts you inside the cars. The TV screens for F1 get close, but you cannot feel the speed or hear the sounds of the cars. You see what happens to the faces of drivers at 200 mph.

If Jake Paul is credited with introducing a new fan base to boxing, then Brad Pitt is the designated “New Daddy” of F1®.

Screenwriter Ehren Kruger goes deep into the world of racing. It’s an intelligent, adult film about a high-risk, complex sport. The big-budgeted film’s money is on the screen.

Brad Pitt’s easygoing charisma dominates the film. It is so much his film that even when he’s not on screen, you are thinking about him. As Sonny Hayes, Pitt is complex, expressive, and with his extreme close-ups, holds his command of the film. Pitt has the ability to appear “comfortable” in all his roles. Here, Sonny is a character with circling demons—suppressed but still hovering—and selfish, stupid regrets. Sonny has a litany of very public scandals.

Sonny is also a master manipulator of F1 rules. He has some brilliant strategies to win races by milliseconds.

Sonny only cares about driving. He lives in a van. We first meet Sonny at the 24 HOURS OF DAYTONA race. His teammates are decades younger than he is, but Sonny helps win the race. He takes his $5,000 check and leaves the party without his trophy.

Looking for his next race, he is on a cross-country road trip when he just happens to run into his old friend and former teammate, Reuben (Javier Bardem), who owns the last-place F1 team, APXGP. Sonny has been following APXGP’s humiliating races and knows the team is in trouble. Reuben begs Sonny to take second-place position to his hot, young racer, Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris). Reuben’s Board of Directors will fire him and dump the team. All Reuben needs to do is win one race to save the team.

Joshua is a PR-friendly, media-savvy, racing brand hustler who, thankfully, travels and lives with his mother, Bernadette (Sarah Niles). We know he is a good son and isn’t into hookers, drugs, and gambling.

This season’s F1 sensation is Kimi Antonelli, the 18-year-old rookie driver for Mercedes. He made F1 history at the 2025 MIAMI GRAND PRIX SPRINT race by being the youngest pole sitter in any race format in F1. The driver in pole position has a significant advantage as they start ahead of all other cars.

Joshua resents Sonny at first. Sonny drives his own race. To him, racing is not a team sport. He does not listen to the Racing Engineer. Sonny is a legend, but that does not seem to impress Joshua.

There are some really clever lines and a strong story anchored by Pitt’s encompassing performance.

The entire racing world is shocked Sonny is racing again. Didn’t he give up racing after a tragic racing accident? Sonny may look good, but he is too old to be racing. Sonny counters that it’s not only youthful testosterone, but strategy that wins races. Sonny tells Joshua that he hasn’t yet developed his prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for decision-making, risk-taking, judgment, and impulse control. That kicks in for males at 25 years old.

Does one lose the edge when you're thinking about the Lamborghini in your garage instead of reckless driving? But not Sonny. He does not care about money and has few personal needs.

From what I can tell, F1 drivers have to obey the instructions from the Racing Engineer team. Students of F1 must learn the basics of the lingo: box, apex, chicanes, the DRS, and the meaning of the colored flags.

Joshua wants to prove himself, and so does the lead vehicle engineer, Kate McKenna (Kerry Condon). It’s a man’s job, and she needs a win to justify her position. Kate is the architect of the APXGP car.

Filmed at all the racing venues, fans will see Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris, and Toto Wolff, the CEO of the Mercedes AMG F1 team. He earned his SAG card.

Director Joseph Kosinski has the unique gift of expert filmmaking and devoting time to his star. Having worked with Tom Cruise on TOP GUN: MAVERICK, he knows how to balance the enormous production and present his star in the most flattering way. The Director of Photography, Claudio Miranda, is Pitt’s true co-star.

See the fascinating racing documentary VILLENEUVE: RACING’S UNTOLD TRAGEDY on HBO MAX.