“F1: The Movie:” Is this what Formula 1 Fans wanted to see?
Brad Pitt as Sonny Hays in F1: The Movie.
Days after it has been released, 'F1' has faced questions about realism and authenticity.
CONTAINS F1 MOVIE SPOLIERS
Formula 1, often referred to as the pinnacle of motorsports, has now been the centre of this summer's newest blockbuster: ‘F1: The Movie’.
Released on the 25th June and the 27th in the United States, the film has already taken over Times Square in New York City for the premier involving all cast, crew and current Formula 1 drivers - some of which decided not to attend.
‘F1’ follows veteran but retired driver Sonny Hays, played by Brad Pitt as he makes his return to Formula 1, 30 years later with fictional team APXGP. We see the development between himself and rookie teammate Joshua Pearce, played by Damson Idris and how Hays initially doesn’t necessarily play the team game while racing. We soon see a greater development between himself, his teammate and the team as the season progresses. The one burden - if APXGP don’t win before the end of the season, owner Ruben Cervantes will lose the team.
Sonny Hays (Brad Pitt) and Joshua Pearce (Damon Idris) at Silverstone.
Since its release, the movie has faced criticism over its authenticity to the sport and how that will affect viewership with devoted Formula 1 fans.
It would always be expected that the sport would be dramatized in the film, given how it is already intense with close action racing in the real world. ‘F1’ has had the Hollywood spin to reel in fans for the 2 and a half hour film. The same way you would see in most films, it is clear the plot has been exaggerated but that doesn’t affect the film in a negative way. You still see close action racing and the true meaning of Formula 1. Producers have said at every stage that this is ‘not a documentary’ but something that is ‘more ambitious’ so it should be no surprise that the plot has gone this way. As Carlos Sainz said, ‘for the pure F1 fan, be open-minded to Hollywood films’.
Producers have taken the heart of Formula 1 and created something exciting, something different for current fans and something to introduce new fans into watching the sport. Just after the film on release day, I spoke to one woman who has never watched a Formula One race before. She said that now she wants to watch them and explore the sport even more. This is something the producers wanted to achieve. I get a feeling that across the board, there will be many new fans introduced to the sport - which is always a brilliant thing.
Visually, ‘F1’ couldn’t be any better. The close, intense racing scenes really were something spectacular and made you be on the edge of your seats. It was probably some of the best racing scenes I have ever seen in a film.
Movie still of the racing scenes.
During the film, there were clear links to some of the sport's most dangerous crashes. This helped maintain the authenticity that producers were going for. At the beginning of the film, we see that ‘F1’ has used actual footage from Martin Donnelly’s crash back in 1990 at the Spanish Grand Prix which saw him being catapulted out of the car. They use this in the film to build up the back story of Sonny Hays as to why he left the sport for 30 years. The second of the crashes came when Joshua Pearce was sent over the barriers and his car caught fire. Although not confirmed, this was most likely referencing Romain Grosjean's crash in Bahrain 2020 where he hit the barriers and escaped his burning car.
The driver cameos are something that will excite Formula 1 fans. Having the opportunity to see your favourite drivers in a film - whilst they were preparing for a real life race is something you don't really see in films - it makes for impressive filming techniques. During the national anthem at Silverstone, Hays was standing next to 4x World Champion Max Verstappern. He was acting and Max was preparing for his race. Brad Pitt and Damson Idris also drove in the actual formation lap of that race.
Brad Pitt & Damon Idris taking part in the national anthem at Silverstone.
The authenticity continues when the ‘voices of F1’ David Croft and Martin Brundle were brought in to commentate on the fictional races. Initially this wasn’t supposed to be the case however at the film premier, Croft admitted that it was Lewis Hamilton (who was a producer on the film) said that he and Martin Brundle should be brought in for authenticity.
“If it wasn’t for Lewis, I wouldn’t be in the film,” David Croft revealed. “He sat down with Jerry Bruckheimer and Joseph Kosinski and said, ‘Look, if you want to make it authentic in terms of commentary, don’t get an actor, get Crofty and Martin to do it — because they’re the voice’.”
The story ended with great triumph - a victory for APXGP! There wasn’t a person who would watch the film and not want Sonny Hays to complete his final race of the season with nothing less than a victory - a victory that ultimately went on to save the team. I couldn’t help but think while watching these scenes that a victory would be incoming however I was shocked that it was Sonny who took it over his teammate who was dominating the race. The final scenes offered some great racing action to sign off the amazing camera work that shone throughout the entire film.
Overall, producers did a great job with this film. Many new fans will now be introduced to the sport through the exciting, raw racing scenes that we witness throughout. It is 2 and a half hours of behind the scenes drama, exciting racing and romance - the perfect fictional introduction to Formula 1.
