But like you, aside from the occasional highlight reel or spectacular crash on YouTube, I’ve never fully bought into the idea of spending hours watching those funny-looking, overpowered machines loop around a track 50 to 78 times.
I mean, apart from Nascar, rally, bike races, or touring car championships, which still make more sense from a motorsport logic, F1 feels more like performance art than pure racing. The cars are so advanced that they barely resemble road cars.
Sure, F1 has contributed massively to the automotive industry, paddle shifters, semi-automatic gearboxes, active suspension and more, but the sport itself often feels like the golf of motorsports: elite, expensive, and reserved for the few.
So when an F1 production drops, I rarely get hyped, except for this one, which I went to see the moment it hit theatres, day one. Why? The director.
Most people know him from Top Gun: Maverick, but cinephiles remember Oblivion and, more importantly, Tron: Legacy, two sci-fi films with distinct visual signatures. Joseph Kosinski’s background in engineering and architecture is always felt in his films.
As a designer myself, I was curious to see how his aesthetic sensibilities would translate into a sports movie, especially one with such a rigid formula. So, does it work?
F1: The Movie
F1: The Movie is a 2025 American sports drama starring Brad Pitt as a retired Formula One driver who returns to the sport after 30 years to help his old teammate’s struggling team avoid collapse.
It’s directed by Joseph Kosinski, written by Ehren Kruger, and co-produced with Lewis Hamilton, who also consulted on the project.
The film features real circuits and, surprisingly, real drivers. The primary cast includes Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, and Javier Bardem.
Synopsis
At the centre is Brad Pitt’s Sonny Hayes, a once-great driver brought out of retirement to mentor Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), a promising young talent with everything to prove.
You've seen this story before: the veteran mentor, the rising star, the underdog team, the internal tensions, and the intense third act that brings everything together, basically a Jerry Bruckheimer movie.
But even with that predictability, F1 is one of the best movies of the year, second only to Sinners, for me.
What works
What surprised me most was how informative the movie is without feeling heavy. I’d call it a gateway drug into the sport. It breaks down the basic laws of the sport, downforce, race strategy, tyre compounds, and pit windows, but never in a way that feels like a lecture.
Instead, it uses those elements to build tension and stakes. I ended up genuinely respecting the sport more, for both its technological logic and for reminding us of the importance of a second.
Let’s go back to the opening. The cinematography is incredible. Visually, it leans more toward Oblivion than Tron: Legacy—clean whites, greys, and sharp contrast. But the real star here is the camera work, especially during racing sequences.
It puts you inside the cockpit, on top of the nose cone, above the track, or nestled in the stands, the camera keeps moving, but never chaotic. The camera puts you in and on the car, but the erratic edit ensures that you are never lost.
Watching this on an Apple Vision Pro (or similar), is going to be incredible. There are moments where the film treats the viewer as the driver. The use of focal length and motion blur creates an immersive sense of speed that puts you in the middle of the action.
The pacing is tight, especially for a movie that runs over two hours. The editing in the third act is especially sharp, there are entire sequences where the cut dictates the adrenaline.
The sound design is unsurprisingly layered. The engine roar, gear shift, and tyre squeal feel tactile and amplified, but not cartoonish. Hans Zimmer did the score.
While it’s not his best work, you can feel his fingerprints, musical cues that elevate tension and emotion without drowning the scene.
Brad Pitt delivers exactly what you’d expect from Brad Pitt. Sonny is world-weary, seasoned, but still addicted to the thrill. He doesn’t have anything to prove anymore, and that makes him more interesting but still just Brad Pitt on a normal day.
Damson Idris is fantastic as Pearce, balancing ego and pride with care. The writing doesn’t fall into the usual traps, there’s no forced arrogance or overdone rivalries. Their mentor-mentee relationship grows naturally, with respect and friction building in equal measure.
Javier Bardem’s Reuben, the team principal and Sonny’s longtime friend, brings heart and depth. Their dynamic relationship reminds us of something too many Hollywood productions have forgotten lately: friendship. Real, believable, adult friendship. It adds emotional texture to the film, especially when we are not on the racing track.
The production design is also on point. F1 is a sport draped in wealth, fashion, and luxury, and the film captures that without being obnoxious. The set design, locations, wardrobes, and gear feel authentic. Kosinski’s architectural influence with the clean lines and layered structures of every garage and paddock is evident in this film ever since Oblivion.
It’s not Top Gun: Maverick
There are a few moments, mostly early on, where the film loses its rhythm, it’s a short moment before everything starts to come together. But that’s short-lived. Once the characters settle into their arcs, the movie finds its footing.
The film gives us the speed and spectacle of F1, sparks flying, engines roaring, but it misses a chance to really spotlight the cars themselves. These machines are cutting-edge, yet they’re treated like any other race car, you don't feel the weight of the machines.
There are two big crashes in the story, but they’re over in a flash, I mean we move on just like that. I was hoping for something more dramatic, like the NFS Shift 2 announcement trailer from 2011, where a crash unfolds in slow motion, with metal and carbon fiber flying everywhere, orange breakpads sizzling, and the drivers looking out in shock all captured in one small moment of terror.
It would’ve helped the audience feel the impact, the danger and understand the consequences. I was really hoping to see more of the glowing orange brake pads when the cars hit hard braking zones. We get a glimpse or two, but more could’ve added depth and tension to the racing scenes.
And yes, it’s hard not to compare it to Top Gun: Maverick. But that’s unfair. Same director, sure, but two different genres, two different tones. I want you to think of it this way, If Top Gun was about testosterone and spectacle, F1 is more about finesse and control.
Conclusion
Two things stayed with me after the credits rolled. First, the characters. You care about them. Not just whether they win a race, but whether they win at life. Rare in a sports movie.
Second, how deeply the film goes into the sport without leaving outsiders behind. The writers clearly understand F1, but they respect the audience enough to make the mechanics digestible.
F1: The Movie doesn’t reinvent the wheel. It’s a fast, entertaining, well-crafted film that manages to honour a niche sport while still being accessible. It’s what I would call an entertaining love letter to Formula One that, even with the spectacle, still finds a way to remain grounded.
