‘F1’ review: Brad Pitt takes the wheel in Joseph Kosinski’s immersive racing drama

Dir: Joseph Kosinski. US. 2025. 156mins

Scintillating on the track but not as agile away from the races, F1 is a thrilling sports film susceptible to every cliché of its genre, confident that its expert setpieces will outrun all that is otherwise derivative about this underdog story. Brad Pitt leans on his movie-star charisma, playing a stereotypically over-the-hill driver who gets one last shot at glory, injecting his one-dimensional character with soul and a weathered grin. And Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski does for cars what he previously did for fighter jets, transforming them into balletic machines that fly through the frame with unstoppable propulsion.

Race sequences are masterfully staged

Scheduled for release on June 25 in the UK and June 27 in the US, this crowdpleaser hopes to attract Formula One fans, who should be knocked out by the immersive racing scenes. Pitt will be a draw as well but, because F1 may appeal to older adult audiences, word-of-mouth and strong reviews will be crucial to ensure the picture has enough gas in the tank commercially. Warner Bros will handle the theatrical rollout, with the film eventually landing on Apple TV+.

It has been more than 30 years since Sonny Hayes (Pitt) walked away from Formula One after a near-fatal accident, his promising career derailed as he succumbed to gambling addiction and a series of ill-fated marriages. Now happy to drive in any event that will have him, Hayes is surprised to be approached by his old friend Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), who runs a flailing Formula One team. Cervantes wants Hayes to mentor his hot-shot young driver Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), who resents being lectured by someone he considers a has-been.

F1 hardly hides its formulaic narrative. Ehren Kruger’s screenplay, based on a story by Kosinski and Kruger, features plenty of clunky dialogue in which the characters spout exposition or unburden themselves of their unoriginal backstories. Drawing from other motorsport films, not to mention sports movies in general, this drama quickly sets up a conflict between the crusty, wise Hayes and the cocky, inexperienced Pearce — all the expected obstacles, setbacks and moral victories arrive right on schedule.

Filmed during an actual Formula One season, Kosinski flaunts F1’s remarkable realism, and the race sequences (often showing Pitt and Idris inside the cars) are staged masterfully. Oscar-winning editor Stephen Mirrione gives these setpieces a kinetic rush while letting the footage breathe, so that we always understand where Hayes and Pearce are on the track. This stunning technical achievement is enhanced further by cinematographer Claudio Miranda and composer Hans Zimmer (Oscar recipients themselves), who add, respectively, a slick polish and a dynamic soundtrack that make each race feel epic.

Now in his early 60s, Pitt has gravitated to playing ageing rapscallions whose lives did not turn out how they had hoped. Shades of his roles in Moneyball and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood can be detected in Hayes, another loveable loser who has not given up on himself. Haunted by his personal failures but convinced he still can outrace anybody, this underdog benefits from Pitt’s self-deprecating humour, which makes Hayes less of a boringly saint-like figure and more of a modest, endearing eccentric.

Most of Pitt’s castmates do equally good work redeeming their caricaturish roles. Bardem exudes a hangdog resilience as the long-suffering team owner who is fearful that his old friend may die behind the wheel in a vain pursuit of redemption. Idris pushes past Pearce’s flippantly antagonistic exterior to locate the young man’s vulnerability. And Sarah Niles shines in an underwritten part as Pearce’s overprotective but strong-willed mother, who unlocks her son’s sweeter side.

But best of all is Kerry Condon as Kate McKenna, the rare female technical director in Formula One. Audiences may quickly suspect she will serve as F1’s love interest, but Pitt and Condon have a wonderfully grown-up rapport, exuding a sexiness emboldened by the fact both characters have been around the track many times. Like the electrifying race sequences, their chemistry gets the motor running.