F1: The Movie (2025) – Review

2025  •  Apple Original Films/Warner Bros. Pictures

Rated: PG-13

Length:  2 hr  35min

Action ~ Drama ~ Sports

Director:  Joseph Kosinski

Writers:  Joseph Kosinski and Ehren Kruger.

Actors:  Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, and Javier Bardem.

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Every Second Counts.

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Official Trailer

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F1: The Movie (2025) – Review

F1: The Movie throws you straight into the high-pressure, high-glamour world of Formula 1, where every tenth of a second can make or break a career. We follow veteran driver Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), a legend trying to squeeze one last season out of a body and mind that have already given everything to the sport. When he’s pulled out of semi-retirement to mentor a young hotshot on a struggling team, he has to decide whether he’s there to help someone else win, or to chase the feeling of being on the limit one more time. From the first lights-out, the film makes it clear: this isn’t just about racing, it’s about identity.

At the heart of the story is the uneasy partnership between Sonny and his rookie teammate Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris). The kid is fast, fearless, and reckless in all the ways Sonny used to be, and their dynamic swings between grudging respect and full-blown rivalry. Behind them, the team is fighting for survival in a sport where money, politics, and performance are brutally intertwined. Every race weekend becomes a test, not just of speed, but of trust—between drivers, engineers, and the people calling strategy from the pit wall. You feel the tension of knowing that one bad decision can cost a career, a championship, or much worse.

Off the track, the movie slows down just enough to show the toll this life takes. Sonny has to confront the relationships he let drift while chasing podiums, the injuries he minimized, and the fear he’s always shoved deep down: what happens when he’s no longer “Sonny Hayes, F1 driver”? Joshua Pearce, meanwhile, struggles with fame hitting overnight—social media, sponsors, and the crushing expectation to deliver every Sunday. Those quiet moments in motorhomes, hotel rooms, and empty garages are where the film sneaks up on you emotionally, reminding you that under the helmets are people hanging their entire sense of self on lap times.

The racing itself is staged like a full-on sensory assault. Cameras tuck you into the cockpit, hug the barriers, and fly down straights alongside these cars as they dance on the edge of disaster. Big set-piece races—rain-soaked laps, late-braking lunges, dangerous wheel-to-wheel scraps—aren’t just spectacle; they mirror the characters’ inner lives. A risky overtake, a botched pit stop, a mechanical failure at the worst possible moment—all of it plays like an externalization of what Sonny and the team are fighting inside. By the time the final race weekend hits, you’re not just wondering who will win; you’re wondering what winning even means for each of them.

F1: The Movie delivers that perfect combo of adrenaline and emotion—yes, the racing is thrilling, but the film never forgets that the stakes are deeply human. Even if you don’t know a thing about DRS, undercuts, or tire compounds, the story pulls you in with characters who feel lived-in and flawed, chasing something they can’t quite let go of thanks to great performances by Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, and Javier Bardem. If you do love F1 Racing, it’s an absolute treat: the cars look and sound phenomenal, the trackside atmosphere feels authentic, and it captures that strange mix of danger, glamour, and obsession that keeps fans glued to race weekends. Not to mention great performance by  It’s the kind of movie that makes your couch feel like trackside, and when the credits roll, you might find yourself missing the grid already.

F1: The Movie is streaming on Apple TV+.

F1: The Movie (2025) – Review by Amelia @ Streaming Movie Night.

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Movie Stills

F1: The Movie (2025) – Review © 2026 Streaming Movie Night