To the sound of Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love, veteran race car driver Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) arrives for 24 Hours of Daytona, the Florida-set endurance rally.
Living a nomadic lifestyle – the sort that sees him doing his washing in a launderette – Sonny is a journeyman racer, forever seeking the next thrill.
A former Formula 1 driver, who crashed in the 1993 Spanish Grand Prix, he saw his career dribble away, with only a gambling habit and failed marriages to show for his life. But then he gets a shot at redemption, when ex-teammate Ruben (Javier Bardem) offers him the chance to join Apx GP, the F1 team he manages.
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With half the season already done, recruiting Sonny is true last-chance saloon stuff, especially as it means pairing him with hot-headed rookie driver Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris). As per his reputation, Sonny soon starts pulling all sorts of dangerous tricks to gain an advantage on the track.
With Sonny and Joshua seemingly racing alongside Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton (also a producer on the film) and others, it’s utterly seamless.
Sadly, the fun stops when the chequered flag comes down. Off the track, the story is hammy, whether it be Sonny’s blossoming romance with Apx’s lead engineer Kate (Kerry Condon), or the Machiavellian attempt to squeeze Ruben out, led by Tobias Menzies’s corporate sleaze.
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As for Pitt, his tattoo-covered torso frequently on show, he delves into a two-dimensional role that he’s not totally comfortable in.
Here, Sonny spends most of his time conjuring trick shots with playing cards or throwing tennis balls at walls.
Idris, so good in the criminally underseen TV drama Snowfall, is an admirable foil here. But in truth, he – and most others – are acted off the screen by Ted Lasso’s Sarah Niles, who plays Joshua’s mother with real aplomb.
Spare a thought for the race commentators too, who have their work cut out explaining the complex race regulations that the maverick Sonny keeps breaking, in a classic exposition dump.
F1 will be released in cinemas on Wednesday 25th June 2025.
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