The best example of the aura that Joseph Kosinski’s high-octane sports drama “F1” is going for is Oliver Stone’s “Any Given Sunday” (1999). A franchise is in peril with a legendary coach at the end of his rope and impatient ownership ready to make a move. At the center is an old stalwart athlete whose best days may be behind him and a young up-and-comer who has the juice to turn things around. Alas, they must learn how to work together for everything to work. It’ll take some hard realizations, some fighting, and maturity to get there. Somehow, it all comes together for the greater good. Funny enough, it’s also similar to Kosinski’s “Top Gun: Maverick” (2022).
Instead of the hard hits on the gridiron, Kosinski and cinematographer Claudio Miranda place the audience in various positions during a Formula One race, which feels exhilarating, disjointed, and exciting all within the same windfall. You certainly feel every gear shift, and the precious seconds melt away as drivers pull into a pit stop. Ehren Kruger’s script stands between two worlds, serving as a gateway for those watching this film into the world of fast cars and luxury, while also harkening back to the old reliable stories of competitive purity versus the relishing of fame’s spoils.
Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) is a flashy, veteran nomad who surrenders himself to the wind and hunches for his next racing gigs. An old friend and competitor, Ruben (Javier Bardem), is in a rough spot. He owns the significantly underachieving Apex Grand Prix team (APXGP), which hasn’t had a top ten finish in its entire history. They lost their best driver, and rookie up-and-comer Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris) has promise, but needs a little guidance.
Like the track itself, time is of the essence to turn things around before a sale happens and everybody is out of a job. Maybe Ruben could coax Sonny out of Formula One retirement and use his prowess to turn their fortunes around. As it turns out, the vet has his own complications with the higher class of motorsport. While being deemed the “next potential great,” a race three decades prior would injure Sonny while ending his Formula One career.
It’s not only the characters of Ruben, Sonny, and Joshua who have a huge incentive on everything working out – Kosinski devotes time to the inner workings of an F1 team with a behind-the-scenes look at how those calculations are just as necessary. Kate McKenna (Kate Condon) is the first female technical director within “F1” who has a lot riding on how the cars are designed, as APXGP is known for having terrible ones. Peter (Tobias Menzies), a member of the APXGP board, has a takeover subplot that becomes more fully realized towards the end of the film. Joshua’s mother, Bernadette (Sarah Niles), brings some emotional levity to her son’s character, who’s navigating what racing means to him.
There are numerous elements in Kruger and Kosinski’s story that the audience will recognize, and they work because of how the actors portray them. Otherwise, there are specific beats “F1” touches on, like laps in a race. Sonny’s inclusion into the team is much like a bull in a china shop. He ruffles feathers, has tension with Joshua over the matter of winning being more important than status, and has disagreements with the strategy. Joshua has his own hero’s journey entangled with Kosinski homing in on the glitz and glamour surrounding Formula One Racing (complete with a Tiesto cameo). Sonny stares down the face of his only failure and has to find a way to overcome it.
“F1” / photo credit: Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures / Apple Original Films
It’s a safe pairing of stories, but Pitt and Idris have the chemistry together to pull it off. Condon’s inclusion also gives life to a character trope that would only be there to move the main story along. Instead, Kate sees through Sonny’s BS and makes the moment where they intertwine meaningful.
The racing scenes appear to serve multiple masters, suggesting that a chess match is unfolding at 200 miles per hour. Partly, it is because the film portrays split-second decision-making, which can make or break a race. Do you make that pit stop to change those tires and risk losing your place, or keep driving and wear them out? Those aspects of the races, paired with the team elements of urgent decisions and discussions that Stephen Mirrione cuts together, are the most thrilling. Then some choices are less successful.
“F1” indulges in Sonny’s daredevil style to the point where he wrecks his car many times over. It lessens the dramatic effect of where his story goes later in the film and the overall effectiveness of how this underdog team is going to beat the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes. At times, “F1” is unsure whether it wants to be a simulator of an instance in the “Need For Speed” franchise. But when the film works, it’s undeniable.
Much like the phrase from 2006’s “Rocky Balboa,” Sonny has some “stuff in the basement.” The money doesn’t matter to him. He travels and sleeps in a van. When all the superficialities fall away, the thrill of the track is what gets him going. Those are the same principles Sonny wants to instill in his younger teammate. Funny enough, the expression is in conversation with the film itself. There are numerous advertisements and displays of wealth available, but somehow, the drive to compete prevails. “F1” strives to be one of those films you throw on to feel it’s either never too late to chase those dreams, or a late-place (yet very well-funded) cohort can shake up the standings.
Kosinski has an affinity for fast cars, planes, rugged anti-heroes of the past, and those who are their air apparent. “F1” might not end up leading the sport drama pack, but it will make things interesting.
