How F1 (2025) Bridges the Gap between Generations
It’s been a hot minute since I’ve talked about race cars. Or rather, race car movies. Now, what do you think of when you hear the words “race car?” You can probably imagine it right now: the powerful roar of an engine, the screech of the tires coming to a halt and of course and the feverous cheer of the crowd. But how often do we think of the racers? No, I don’t mean the biggest names in the game. I mean the guys who often go unheard of, racing for a team that’s always coming in dead last (sometimes not even finishing). Well folks, let’s dive into the fast and furious world of Formula 1, or more colloquially known as F1 Racing!
After collecting a win in the 24 Hour Daytona race, Sonny Hayes (played by Brad Pitt) is asked by his friend and former racing buddy Ruben Cervantes (played by Javier Bardem) to race for his team, APXGP, after one of their racers quit. Sonny is reluctant to do so, since he’s a racer for hire. However, he agrees to do so when he realizes that winning F1 will make him one of the world’s best. Upon arriving, he immediately butt heads with Team APXGP’s rookie racer Josh Pearce (played by Damson Idris). Sonny also struggles to adjust to F1 race car tech, with Pearce demeaning him for his age and lack of experience in the game. Ruben reveals to Sonny that if he and Josh don’t win a race, he’ll be forced to sell the entire company.
For those who aren’t familiar with F1 racing, it’s often considered the highest level of motorsports. The cars themselves aren’t even shaped like the cars you’ll see in NASCAR or its adjacent organizations. Rather, they more akin to sleek aerodynamic rockets on oversized wheels. These wheels are fitted with tires that range from hard, medium and soft. The teams will decide their race strategy and what tires to use at every lap of the race (this number varies from track to track). Finally, the average speed of a F1 car easily tops out around 200 to 220 mph. It takes real guts, skill and courage to race at this level. Not every prospective racer can make it and those who do put in the time and dedication to do so. Much like Gran Turismo, F1 (2025) goes into minute detail on how these athletes train. From the racing simulators to the reaction drills and even old school strength and conditioning that consists of jogging and neck training (necessary to support a racer’s helmet and stabilize their head during takeoff and braking).
With that out of the way, I found this movie to share some similarities with Pixar’s Cars. Both center on a rookie driver making it to the top of the game with the guidance of an older, more experienced racer and both involve the two growing respect for the other. However, these similarities are only on a surface level. While Cars has a very simple, cookie cutter story of a young upstart learning the value of patience and humility, F1 (2025) is very different. Josh is a talented racer who has his priorities in the wrong places, being more concerned with his public image and social media presence. Meanwhile, Sonny doesn’t care about the interviews nor the glitz and glam of being a celebrity. He’s only there with one mission: to race.
Sonny’s attitude gets on Josh’s nerves, which causes him to compete against Sonny instead of the other racers. Even though we see just how much they despise each other, they also learn from one another and seek to better understand each other. Now here’s what this film does that most others don’t: Sonny and Josh don’t learn to get along after effectively working together once or twice. They are forced to continuously learn and improve themselves and their relationship over the course of the entire runtime. From Sonny learning how to better navigate the complex F1 technology by training on the simulator, to Josh shifting to more old school training methods. It’s realistic and sometimes brutally difficult to watch. But sometimes, that’s just what a movie needs.
The music was composed by the one and only Hans Zimmer. Unlike his previous work on The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, really any Christopher Nolan film, Zimmer combines elements of synth and techno with his signature thudding bass. The result is a soundtrack that amplifies the film’s intensity, particularly during its racing scenes. It only fuels our interest in Sonny whenever he gets behind the wheel of a F1 car. At times, the score is reminiscent to Daft Punk’s score in the film Tron: Legacy as both make heavy use of synthesizers. But while Daft Punk’s beats are lighter with a synth-dystopian edge, Zimmer’s score has a more modern, “trendier” tone. Hallmarking the cutting edge and high tech racing world of F1. It’s simple, effective and uniquely utilized. In fact, it serves to show just how much of a multifaceted and eclectic artist Zimmer is.
You might think you’ll need the endurance of an F1 racer to sit through this film’s daunting 2 hour and 35 minute runtime. But I’m here to tell you that’s not necessary. The movie is so well paced, you never feel like you are sitting through a marathon of a slog and it gets you invested in each of its characters and their journeys every step of the way. Buoyed by a powerful theme of bridging the gap between generations along with a memorable soundtrack, F1 (2025) is a movie that everyone needs to experience to not only witness a glimpse of the F1 racing world, but also to learn the value of active compassion.
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