F1- a review of the hit movie ahead of the new season

The 2026 Formula 1 season starts this weekend, March 6. I thought it would be fun to review my all-time favorite racing movie, F1. F1 is a sports drama about fictional Formula 1 racer Sonny Hayes, played by Brad Pitt. Hayes was a promising young driver until an accident caused him to retire. The movie follows him as he comes out of retirement to race for an old friend who owns a fictional Formula 1 team APXGP, known as Apex. Damson Idris also stars in this movie as rookie driver Joshua Pearce, who also races for Apex. The film’s main source of tension is the investors of APXGP who want to force the owner, Rubén Cervantes, played by Javier Bardem, to sell the team if it cannot win a race this season.

F1 was released in June 2025 and directed by Joseph Kosinski. It was produced by Kosinski, Jerry Bruckheimer, Lewis Hamilton, Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, and Chad Oman. The production studios are Apple Studios, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Plan B Entertainment, Monolith Pictures, and Dawn Apollo Films. Dawn Apollo Films was founded by Hamilton, a seven-time Formula 1 world champion. The music in the show was composed by Hans Zimmer. Over time, it is clear that the F1 soundtrack has had an impact. I often hear the music in the background of Formula 1 edits, and I listen to several of the songs regularly.

Now I know there are a lot of movies and documentaries about Formula 1, like Drive to Survive, Rush, Senna, and Grand Prix, which are among my other favorites. But F1 pulls me into the story quicker which is why it beats out those four in my opinion. F1 was also unique as it was filmed at several of the racetracks during actual race weekends. Some of these tracks include: the British Grand Prix at SILVERSTONE, England, the Italian Grand Prix at MONZA, Italy, the Las Vegas Grand Prix at Las Vegas, and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Abu Dhabi, UAE. Because the movie was filmed at race locations and events during the 2023 and 2024 Formula 1 season, there are several cameos of actual Formula 1 drivers and team principals. For me, the most notable cameo was of Frédéric Vasseur, the team principal of Ferrari, when, during an interview in the movie, he was asked what he thought of Apex, and he replied, “We don’t”. The reason that I feel this is the most notable is that it clearly emphasizes how poorly the APXGP team was doing at that point in time. Bringing viewers back to the main driving tension of the show.

With much of the film set during 2023 and 2024 Formula 1 events, it gave fans of Formula 1 plenty of time to anticipate the movie’s release. The F1 cast would be on-site during certain events and even had their own pit garage, often positioned between Ferrari’s and Mercedes’ pit garages. Pitt and Idris also would occasionally stand with the drivers during the national anthem. The Apex cars would also be driven by stunt drivers at the back of the formation laps. The Apex car itself is a Formula 2 chassis that was widened with body modifications provided by Mercedes’ Applied Science division to make the car as close to Formula 1 cars as possible. They

made six cars total with different engines to suit different needs. From a genuine Mecachrome Formula 2 engine so that the car could have a realistic and authentic speed to an electric engine so they could film in the pit lane with significantly lower explosion risks. Other additional chassis were remote controlled and used to film crash sequences.

Having a movie so thoroughly embedded in Formula 1 made the entire experience better. From the drivers and team principals showing up naturally on screen to the general chaos of race weekends made this movie feel more raw and authentic. I enjoyed the driving scenes the most. They created the same tension that I feel when watching race weekends. The movie did a great job on capturing the emotion of Formula 1. However, like any movie it is important to remember that it is a movie and certain things are going to be exaggerated to make for a good reception. People like drama so amplifying the tension between the drivers and having sudden career changes may not be realistic but are necessary to appeal to a larger audience. Because of the authenticity of this film, I have shown it to friends who are interested in Formula 1 as a gateway into what they can expect to see during race weekends and to show that there is more that goes into Formula 1 than just fast cars driving in circles. I was also excited by the news that a sequel was greenlit in February 2026. With how much I enjoyed F1 I have high expectations for what they are going to do next.