F1 The Movie review (2025)

F1 The Movie is easily the best sports film of the year and firmly establishes Joseph Kosinski is one of the most consistent and skilled filmmakers of his generation.

The easiest, maybe lazy breakdown of F1 The Movie is it’s the Top Gun: Maverick of F1 movies minus the guns and missiles. That’s not an unfair comparison, since Maverick was a major box office hit and helped reignite the concept of seeing big blockbusters on the big screen following the pandemic and rise of streaming films at home.

No doubt Kosinski, who directed and co-wrote the film, has a formula that works. It’s nothing groundbreaking or especially revolutionary so much as it’s executed on an elite tier level that it feels special. And it doesn’t hurt to have an A-level megastar like Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt in the starring role either.

While it’s almost too easy to envision Cruise as the F1 The Movie lead, Kosinski teams with Pitt for this up close and personal look at F1 racing.

Pitt plays Sonny Hayes, the next great F1 prodigy whose future got wrecked after a devastating crash during a race. He’s a racing nomad these days sleeping in his van as he heads from one race to the next.

Sonny’s en route to a race when his old racing buddy, Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem, Dune: Part Two) comes calling. His racing company, APXGP, is in a bad way, and he needs an experienced racer to help him get some points and maybe even some wins before the end of the season. Without those badly needed points, the board of directors can move ahead with their plans to sell the company to recoup some of their losses.

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Ruben could also use Sonny’s help in mentoring the team’s talented, but inexperienced hotshot racer Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris, Snowfall). Joshua could be the next big phenom, but he’s lacking discipline and commitment to being the very best.

Along with Joshua, Ruben has assembled an unconventional team including technical director Kate McKenna (Kerry Condon), team principal Kaspar Smolinski (Kim Bodnia), race engineer Fazio (Joseph Balderrama), chief mechanic Dodge (Abdul Salis) and tire gunner Jodie (Callie Cook).

Sonny strolls in with a cavalier attitude focused on doing right by his friend no matter how prickly he initially comes off to the rest of the team. That includes ticking off Joshua, who immediately feels threatened that Ruben brought his old pal in to take his spot.

Kosinski and co-writer Ehren Kruger (Top Gun: Maverick) wisely don’t make Joshua’s inner circle of his mother (Sarah Niles, Heads of State) and best friend/manager Cash (Samson Kayo, House of the Dragon) troublemakers poisoning his attitude to be more focused on himself than the team.

Over the course of a series of races, the team gradually begins to understand Sonny’s strategy and mindset. This doesn’t sit well with Joshua, who isn’t sure if Sonny is more of a rival than a mentor.

Pitt’s leading man charm was never a question for F1 The Movie. He still carries that megastar leading man energy in every scene while making Sonny a charming, likeable character. Idris is more of a surprise easily holding his own as the young hotshot feeling pressure from within and without in terms of the best approach to be the best. Idris absolutely looks like an onscreen equal to Pitt, which hopefully leads to more leading roles for him.

Condon has the toughest role in making Kate more than just Sonny’s love interest. She’s able to give Kate her own agenda beyond waiting on Sonny to “choose” her. While the romantic subplot feels obligatory, Pitt and Condon make it work even if it wasn’t necessary.

Bardem is fun as the racer turned businessman who’s worried that bringing in his pal was a mistake. Tobias Menzies is also enjoyable as one of Ruben’s board members.

Like Maverick, Kosinski fully takes viewers into the cockpit for the exhilarating racing sequences. F1 The Movie is hardly the first racing film, but few have managed to make racing so breathtaking. Editors Stephen Mirrione and Patrick J. Smith do a phenomenal job of shifting perspectives from the driver’s perspective of the track to close ups of the driver and wider shots of the race playing out.

Racing films are prone to disorienting cuts and overly distracting edits to double down on the speed and essential precision needed. Mirrione and Smith make it far easier to take in without overwhelming viewer’s senses.

Director of Photography Claudio Miranda (Life of Pi, Top Gun: Maverick) stages some gorgeous shots in F1 The Movie. Whether it’s the cars racing through firework sparks crashing onto the track, a steady rain blasting the track or a Vegas skyline, Miranda provides plenty of breathtaking visuals.

F1 The Movie makes for a strong primer to the sport in a way that should attract new fans to take in the thrills and excitement beyond the big screen. At least until a sequel gets released.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Photo Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

Pick up F1 The Movie on 4k and Blu Ray on Amazon.

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