Take 61 year old Hollywood boomer Brad Pitt, throw in the director (Joseph Kosinski) and the producer (Jerry Bruckheimer) of “Top Gun: Maverick” and their “need for speed” get seven time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton on board and you have the movie “F1.”
Brad Pitt is Sonny Hayes in ‘F1.’ PHOTO FROM WARNER BROS. PICTURES/APPLE F1 is likely to be a kick for your Gen X uncle who’ll be tickled seeing the character of 1990’s F1 sensation Sonny Hayes (Pitt) go toe to toe with driver athletes half his age. According to Google’s AI, the average age of an F1 driver in the 2025 season is 27.
The story gets rolling when Sonny’s former teammate and now F1 racing team owner, Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), talks him into coming on board to turn a losing season around.
The people behind this movie must have seen Bardem play Stilgar in “Dune” — the man who wholeheartedly believes Paul Atreides is the messianic Lisan al Gaib. The man whose line is: “Even if you don’t believe, I believe.” Quick, someone develop an app of Javier Bardem cheering you on each day.
Add to the personalities Sonny has to deal with is team rookie Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris) and his mom, Bernadette. As expected, both men grate on each other’s nerves and sensibilities.
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Some of the lines in the script can get hokey at times, but the sound design and camera work is excellent. Customized, light and nimble Sony cameras on motorized mounts on Mercedes cars captured the action on the tracks that reels the audience in on that feeling of speed, pulling the Gs and taking those turns on the tracks. It also makes the rush and risks of being behind the wheel as palpable as possible to those comfortably in their cinema seats.
Fans of the sport like my seatmate, Andie Syyap, quickly spotted drivers, team principals, and F1 personalities making cameos throughout the film. I constantly had to ask her who she was reacting to, as the only one I recognized was Roscoe, Lewis Hamilton’s dog. For those wanting to get into the sport and find out how real the racing scenarios were in “F1,” I recommend her IG page, @andiessyap.
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Hayes is the rare kind of athlete who is not in it for fame or fortune. He slinks away after each race; he shies away from photo ops and isn’t one for media training. At the end of the day, he’s actually a generous teammate. He just loves being on the road and behind the wheel.
Tom Cruise actually showed up at the premiere of “F1” in London. Reuniting with his “Interview with the Vampire” co-star. He’s got his own Bruckheimer produced racing movie in the works — “Days of Thunder 2.”
