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The Eastern Echo Wednesday, July 9, 2025 | Print Archive
The Eastern Echo

"F1" Poster

Review: ‘F1’ is an action-packed, visually interesting movie with an all right story

"F1" is a movie that brings the thrill of motorsport to the big screen. It follows Sonny Hayes, played by Brad Pitt, as he returns to the world of Formula One after an injury at the 1993 Spanish Grand Prix. Alongside him is rookie Joshua Pearce, played by Damson Idris, battling to prove himself and keep his spot on his failing team, the fictional APXGP.

APXGP is entering its third season in Formula One with not a single point scored. Hayes’ old friend and racing rival Ruben Cervantes, played by Javier Bardem, owns the team, and if the team can’t get a win by the end of the season, Cervantes will be forced to sell the team he has spent over $300 million building. 

The movie plays out to be a classic story about an underdog rising to the top, with Sonny and Joshua battling out egos before bonding and realizing they both have something to learn from each other. 

Highs

The movie's filming strategy creates a deep sense of realism. It was filmed during real Formula One races, during which professional racers drove real Formula One cars.

While the actors did not drive Formula One cars, they did drive look-alike cars with speeds and technology closer to Formula 3 cars. 

Dynamic camera angles also provide a 360-scope of the racing. Cameras are shooting from the front of the car, the back, overtop, in front, and more.

For overtaking scenes not filmed in real life, the studio used CGI to put the APXGP car livery onto the car that was overtaking. 

Additionally, helmet cameras capture the feeling inside the race car, putting the audience right into the car and the intense experience of driving it. 

To maintain the realism of the film, Hayes' and Pearce’s competitors are actual Formula One drivers from the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Even non-Formula One fans will see recognizable faces, such as Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. The latter even worked as a producer on the film. 

The concept of the film is unique, which is enhanced by the original soundtrack. The score is by Hans Zimmer, and it helps build tension, increasing the audience's adrenaline without the characters needing to say a word. “F1: Original Movie Soundtrack” features artists such as Tate McRae, Ed Sheeran, Doja Cat and more. The score and album are seamlessly blended to flow as one, which entices the audience and heightens the emotions in each scene. 

The movie also brings its own uniquenesses to an old trope – the story of an underdog coming out on top, with an old-timer and a rookie who cannot quite get along. While this trope has been used many times before, the strong character development arcs in "F1" make the story compelling. The movie addresses many aspects of character development; for example, it takes on ego, patience, drive, friendship, open-mindedness, and more.

Furthermore, just like the action shown, the fast-paced story wastes no time throwing the audience into action. The story hardly ever slows, yet it still develops characters and tells a cohesive story. 

Lows

Despite the lengths gone to achieve realism, the film does not end up being very realistic. Even to non-Formula One fans, there is a great deal of drama that comes across as over-the-top to many. 

Two such scenes are the major crashes of Pearce and Hayes. Both are very real possibilities, with Pearce’s crash resembling that of Romain Grosjean's in 2020. However, with similar injuries, Pearce only missed three races, while Grosjean missed the final two of the season and did not race again until four months after his crash. 

Additionally, Hayes pulls several stunts that would have gotten him banned before he could get the needed win. From purposely stalling the car to crashing into other drivers, Hayes’ unsportsmanlike behavior would have had him sent to the FIA Stewards for a stern talking-to after every race. 

For Formula One fans, smaller things may get on their nerves. MacBooks are used for technical data, the drivers do not have personal trainers, the public relations person for the team walks out while two drivers are fighting, and Hayes starts a flying lap right after he spun during testing. 

Furthermore, while the story tries to empower and include women, there are only three female characters who have names, and none of them ever talk to each other, let alone about something other than a man. 

Some of the female characters do not get many lines at all; for example, the PR manager, played by Simone Ashley, only has a few lines.

Even the super quick female mechanic Jodie (played by Callie Cooke) is first introduced to the audience as she stumbles around the garage and messes up Pearce’s pitstop. 

A side character who only joins the screen for three lines receives the most stereotypical and misogynistic lines of the whole film. She asks Pearce who he races for, tells him she doesn’t know that team, then gleefully asks if he can introduce her to Carlos Sainz. This interaction could suggest that this is what misogynistic Formula One fans think every female fan is like. 

One of the main characters, Kate McKenna, played by Kerry Condon, is a highly intelligent woman trying to prove herself in a male-dominated field. She designs the car and winds up delivering the drivers a race-winning car, but only with the help of feedback from Hayes. 

Out of all the female characters, McKenna gets the most development. However, it is not deep or well-explained, and it mostly centers around her becoming Hayes' love interest. 

Additionally, there are plot holes for the developed characters. For instance, Hayes has an obsession with playing cards. He throws them and always takes a random card in his pocket during races. The one time he does not, he gets angry and crashes. 

The reasoning and symbolism of these cards is never fully revealed. Hayes used to be a gambling addict, and his dad, who passed away when he was 13, taught him how to gamble. However, the audience is never shown why Hayes’ dad is so important to him or how Hayes was influenced by his dad. 

The audience sees Hayes get nervous in the car a handful of times, such as when he did not have his card, which shows hesitation and self-destructive recklessness. It hints at wanting to explore mental health and the repercussions of a crash as serious as the one Hayes had, but it never does. 

Moreover, the movie hints at Hayes having a back injury from his infamous crash several times. However, this is not explored until the last 30 minutes, when the screws in his spine are revealed to the team. Still, he goes on to race and win that race. During the race, he gets dizzy, presumably from the back injury, but that is only shown and never explored further. 

Not only is that frustratingly inconclusive for the audience, it is also extremely inaccurate to the world of Formula One. Extensive medical checks are done by teams and Formula One’s governing body, the FIA. If a racer had an injury that extreme, the team and FIA would know about it, and Hayes would have to prove that he was stable and could race safely. 

This also means the ending feels unsatisfying. While the team gets their big win and Cervantes can maintain ownership, the subplots get tied up with looser ends.

For instance, the romance between Hayes and McKenna is left with them agreeing to see each other again before Hayes runs off to the desert to race in Baja for a small team. 

This could signify Hayes has gotten his love for racing back, as he declared that is why he came back to Formula One. However, it just feels thrown in after the buildup of the final win and a series of dizzy spells during the race.

Finally, the only ending Pearce gets is Hayes telling him APXGP is now his team to call the shots for. 

Verdict

“F1” is an action-packed, visually interesting movie with a decent story. For casual Formula One fans, or even people who have never watched Formula One, this movie will be great. 

For hardcore Formula One fans, it will be hard not to pick apart the over-dramatization and small aspects of the film. There are enough cameos to excite them, but the over-the-top drama will earn the movie a few eye rolls. 

Content note: “F1” contains scenes of flashing lights, which may trigger seizures for those with photosensitive epilepsy. 

Rating: 4 out of 10

Editor's note: On July 3, 2025, this article was updated to correct the name of Javier Bardem.

Gabriella Payeur is the Marketing Director for The Eastern Echo. She has worked for The Echo since summer of 2024. She has written news stories and reviews.