F1: The Movie – a fun but formulaic 'corporate tie-in'
Brad Pitt stars as a washed up racing driver returning three decades after a near-fatal crash

You can't fault the logic behind "F1", said Clarisse Loughrey in The Independent. Strapping an ageing A-lister into a fighter jet for "Top Gun: Maverick" translated into megabucks at the box office, so why not hire the team behind that film, including director Joseph Kosinski, and get them to pull off another summer blockbuster, this time involving fast cars.
'Bone-dry'
Alas, anyone expecting the same kind of thrills will be disappointed: "F1" offers "the spiritually bone-dry, abrasive inverse to all" of that earlier film's "giddy pleasures". In place of Tom Cruise's Maverick, our hero is Brad Pitt's Sonny, a former 1990s champion who is all washed up – until his former F1 comrade Ruben (Javier Bardem) gets in touch, and begs him to come to the aid of the failing team he now manages.
'Puppyishly charming'
You can guess what follows, said Robbie Collin in The Daily Telegraph. Sonny's "unorthodox" strategies pay dividends, and the team moves up "from the back of the grid at Silverstone to jockeying for pole position at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina". So the film is certainly formulaic, but Pitt is "puppyishly charming", even if he does not achieve Cruise levels of magnetism; Britain's Damson Idris provides good support as an "impulsive" rookie; and though "F1" suffers for being a "corporate tie-in", it's well made and offers plenty of thrills, even for those who are not F1 fans.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Yes, it is terrifically shot and edited, said Nicholas Barber on BBC Culture. But the story makes little sense – our hero is so relaxed, cocky and brilliant, you wonder why his career was ever on the skids; and the film's attitude to F1 is so "fawning", it has the feel of a glossy promotional video. Indeed, it is so intent on being positive about Formula 1 and its milieu, there isn't even a "proper antagonist".
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 Post Office-approved cartoons about mail-in voting
Cartoons Artists take on reverse logic, Putin's election advice, and more
-
The battle of the weight-loss drugs
Talking Point Can Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly regain their former stock market glory? A lot is riding on next year's pills
-
Sudoku medium: August 24, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Ford Ranger Plug-in Hybrid: 'more than just a novelty'
The Week Recommends Europe's first plug-in hybrid pickup is 'surprisingly agile'
-
6 lush homes in the trees
Feature Featuring a glass house in Texas and a home built for a Broncos quarterback in Colorado
-
Brooklyn vs. the Beckhams: trouble in paradise
In the Spotlight Scion of the Beckham clan and billionaire heiress wife Nicola Peltz staged an elaborate vow renewal – and none of his family were on the guest list
-
Alien: Earth – a 'bold' prequel to the space horror classic
The Week Recommends Set two years before Alien, new Disney show pays 'homage' to the original
-
Music reviews: Ethel Cain, Amaarae, and The Black Keys
Feature "Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You," "Black Star," and "No Rain, No Flowers"
-
Film reviews: Highest 2 Lowest and Weapons
Feature A kidnapping threatens a mogul's legacy and a town spins into madness after 17 children disappear
-
Book reviews: 'King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution' and 'Gwyneth: The Biography'
Feature How the Iranian Revolution began and Gwyneth Paltrow's life in the spotlight
-
Garrett Graff's 6 favorite books that shine new light on World War II
Feature The author recommends works by James D. Hornfischer, Craig L. Symonds, and more