F1 The Movie
I went to a screening of “F1: The Movie” in IMAX, and let me tell you—it was an absolutely thrilling ride from start to finish. During the 2.5-hour (155-minute) runtime, I was on the edge of my seat, white-knuckled through every lap, gasping for air as the actors’ faces were squished inside their safety helmets.
Synopsis: 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.
Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, Damson Idris, and Kerry Condon take us both casual fans and die-hard F1 enthusiasts inside the cars and into the high-stakes world of Formula 1 racing. And yes, Pitt actually drives the cars. He trained for months in F3 and F2 vehicles—look at me, talking about the difference between these magnificent machines as if I actually knew what that meant!
For those unfamiliar with the sport, “F1: The Movie” is an immersive ride through the tracks and across the globe, capturing the intensity of these high-tech, high-speed races. Director Joseph Kosinski (“Top Gun: Maverick”) and producer Jerry Bruckheimer take us to real race weekends at iconic venues—from Dubai to Las Vegas, with stops at the Mexico City Grand Prix and other countries I didn’t even realize hosted these events. Even the Baja 1000 makes into the movie. The energy in these locations is palpable.
What really surprised me was the scale of it all—the pit crews, the technical teams, the sheer coordination it takes to get these machines on the track. And of course, the money involved is staggering.
The last time I went to a race was at the Ontario Motor Speedway back in the 1970s. All I remembered was how loud those engines were. And let me tell you, F1: The Movie captures that sound perfectly—it’s loud. But this wasn’t the only connection I felt with this movie. I grew up in Mexicali, Baja California. One of the fun things we witnessed as kids, was the Baja 500 off road race going through the back of our rural neighborhood. It was probably in the 1960s, when we’d ride our bikes way out to the dirt tracks in the fields to watch the steel framed race cars struggle to get through the soft dirt. My father sponsored one of the drivers, so he’d lead us to a spot where we would watch the racers go by leaving a dusty trail behind. Those were the days.
The cinematography in this movie is stunning. I felt like I was behind the wheel, battling wind, rain, and nerves right alongside the drivers. Between the roaring engines and the fiery crashes, this movie is one hell of a ride.
Here’s a little tidbit I picked up from my seat mate, John Howard, our local CBS8 sports reporter. He told me that according to a news article, San Diego is being considered as a possible site for a NASCAR race. Wouldn’t that be something?
Lives and fortunes are on the line with every high-stakes lap in F1: The Movie, an Apple Original Film. It’s the perfect summer movie!
F1 The Movie Opens June 27, 2025
Rated PG-13
Runtime 155 minutes
Apple Original Films released by Warner Bros.
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