Lights Out and Away We Go

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From the very opening of the film, ‘F1: The Movie’ throws you into the action of the 24 Hours of Daytona sports-car endurance race. The racing scenes are fast, loud, and filmed to make you feel like you’re sitting inches above the tarmac rather than watching from a cinema seat. Kosinski brings the same eye for large-scale action that made ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ a crowd-pleaser, but the film isn’t carried by speed alone. Behind the wheel is a story about second chances, trust, and the challenge of bringing a struggling team back into contention.

The film succeeds because it gets that Formula 1 is really a team sport. Every driver relies on the people supporting them, and every outcome depends on many choices made behind the scenes. With all the racing, rivalries, and relationships inside the APXGP garage, ‘F1: The Movie’ gives viewers a lot to care about.

Lights Out and Away We Go

As the lights come on, twenty drivers get ready for the perfect start, and in just a few seconds, everything can change. The film does a great job of capturing that feeling. The story starts with Sonny Hayes, a former racing prodigy whose F1 career ended years ago after a serious accident. After years away from the spotlight, Hayes is invited back by his friend and old rival, Ruben Cervantes, who owns the struggling APXGP team. With the team stuck at the back of the pack and running out of time, Hayes is brought in as a last hope to turn things around.

Waiting for him is Joshua Pearce, APXGP’s young star driver. Pearce is fast, ambitious, and eager to prove himself, but he doesn’t want advice from a veteran who thinks about racing in a different way. Their conflict is a big part of the movie, creating tension both on the track and in the garage. Technical director Kate McKenna and the rest of the APXGP team must keep everyone focused as these two strong personalities compete for the same goal.

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Brad Pitt slips into the role of Sonny Hayes, playing the experienced racer with a natural calm confidence. More importantly, the racing scenes feel more real, given that Pitt spent months training to drive and covered thousands of miles in real race cars before filming began. Kerry Condon also deserves credit for adding warmth and heart to the story, ensuring the challenges matter just as much off the track as on it.

Beyond the racing, ‘F1: The Movie’ looks at second chances, trust, and what it takes to succeed when the odds are against you. These ideas have always been part of Formula 1, which is why they fit so well here. The film is also helped by real Formula 1 drivers and well-known paddock figures who appear as themselves throughout the story. Their presence doesn’t feel like a trick; it just makes the world of F1 feel more real and believable from start to finish.

A Pole Position Performance from Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt has played all kinds of roles, from outlaws and stuntmen to astronauts and soldiers, but Sonny Hayes might be his most likable character in a long time. As a veteran driver making a comeback in Formula 1, Pitt gives Sonny a natural charm that makes you want to cheer for him right away. Hayes shows the marks of a career that never quite reached its peak, but Pitt doesn’t let him become a stereotype. He mixes confidence, humour, stubbornness, and vulnerability, so Sonny feels like a real person instead of just another Hollywood hero. It’s no wonder Pitt felt such a strong connection to the project, calling F1: The Movie “one of the most extraordinary experiences” of his career.

He spent months getting ready for the film and drove thousands of miles in race cars before filming began. You can see that dedication every time he’s behind the wheel. Whether he’s racing at top speed or trading quick lines in the garage, Pitt fits right into the Formula 1 world. Even at 61, he has the presence to own every scene, and F1: The Movie shows that few actors can lead a blockbuster like Brad Pitt.

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While filming at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, Pitt talked with F1 TV’s Will Buxton about his long-time love of motorsport and how the movie finally happened. Racing has been important to him for decades, long before he started working on F1. Thinking back on where it all started, Pitt said, “I’ve always loved racing. I grew up with Jackie Stewart, and some of my earliest memories. In the ’90s, I really got heavily into MotoGP. Then I started veering into F1, and here we are.” You can see that passion throughout the film, and it helps make Sonny Hayes feel like more than just a character on the page.

Pitt revealed that he had spent nearly two decades trying to get a racing project off the ground before finally finding the right story. “I’ve been trying to get a racing movie done for 20 years. I’ve tried bikes, I’ve tried cars, I’ve tried different disciplines, and for whatever reason, they never came to fruition,” he said. Looking at the finished product, it’s hard not to feel that the wait was worth it. Few actors could have carried this role with the same mix of confidence, charisma, and genuine enthusiasm for the sport.

Director and producer Joseph Kosinski on the set of Apple Original Films’ “F1 The Movie,” premiering December 12, 2025 on Apple TV. | Image: Apple TV

Running Full Throttle from Start to Finish

The director, who previously put audiences inside fighter jets with ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, uses that same immersive style for Formula 1, and the results are amazing. Working with famous producer Jerry Bruckheimer, seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton, and Pitt himself, Kosinski has made a film that rarely feels like you’re just watching from the sidelines. Instead, you’re thrown right into the middle of the action as Sonny Hayes returns to the sport to help save the struggling APXGP team while dealing with a tense partnership with rising star Joshua Pearce.

As with any great racing movie, the action on the track is what keeps the engine running, and F1: The Movie excels in that department. Rather than filling the screen with CGI race cars, Kosinski and his team filmed during real Formula 1 weekends, putting their fictional team alongside the biggest names in racing. Cameras went to famous tracks like Silverstone, Monza, Suzuka, Las Vegas, and Yas Marina, giving the film a level of realism that could not have been created on a studio set. Hamilton’s influence is clear throughout the production. Besides being a producer, he worked closely with the filmmakers and called the project “as authentic as a racing movie has ever been.”

What’s even more impressive is how the film was made. Filming during live Formula 1 events meant the crew had to work around a schedule that wasn’t made for movies. Often, they didn’t have hours to perfect a scene. They had minutes. Kosinski has talked about the challenge of working within those tight time frames, where the cast and crew often had only a few chances to get a shot before the real racing started again. That pressure shows on screen. The full grandstands, the engine noise, the busy atmosphere in the paddock, and the feeling of cars racing through corners at amazing speeds all feel real because much of it was filmed during the actual events, giving the racing film a sense of slowdown and excitement that Formula 1 deserves.

A scene from Apple Original Films’ “F1 The Movie,” premiering December 12, 2025, on Apple TV. | Image: Apple TV

Taking the Chequered Flag

By the time ‘F1: The Movie’ finishes, it has done something few sports films manage: please longtime fans while still being easy for newcomers to enjoy. The racing scenes are amazing, Brad Pitt gives one of his most fun performances in years, and Joseph Kosinski once again shows he knows how to put audiences right in the middle of the action. Building on the camera work that made ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ such a big hit, Kosinski goes even further here, using new cockpit shots, dramatic 180-degree camera flips, and exciting angles that make viewers feel like they are sitting in the car with the drivers. The first half of the film is especially strong, setting a strong pace and building excitement for the races that follow.

No movie is perfect, and ‘F1: The Movie’ does slow down a bit during some of the quieter moments between races, where the drama off the track doesn’t always match the excitement on it. Still, these small flaws are easy to ignore when the racing scenes are this good. Brad Pitt, Lewis Hamilton, Jerry Bruckheimer, and Joseph Kosinski have made one of the most entertaining sports films in recent years—one that feels made for premium formats like IMAX. Whether you are a lifelong Formula 1 fan or just someone who enjoys a great blockbuster, F1: The Movie is worth the ticket price and easily earns a spot among the best movie experiences of the year.

IMDb: 7.6 | Tomatometer: 82% | Popcornmeter: 97% | Average: 85

★★★★☆

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