Introduction and project background

Formula One may have taken the lead in streaming thanks to Drive to Survive, but it has never before had the subject of a major narrative film made by Apple Original Films, Jerry Bruckheimer, Plan B and Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time world champion.

That will change next summer when director Joseph Kosinski, who is the same man behind Top Gun: Maverick, will be launching F1: The Movie. The film will combine the actual race tracks with big-time storytelling.

Story premise

Author Ehren Kruger narrates the film and describes it as a story centered on Sonny Hayes (Dr. Brad Pitt). He was a prodigy in racing and had been racing towards the end of 1990s only to end his career in Formula One following a fatal accident.

After 20 years, a struggling team APXGP lures Sonny back to the team with the hope that he could hopefully handle it with his experience to help it get out of the bottom. 

Conflict and team dynamics

His back is imminent to his aspirations as compared to the young hotshot Joshua Pearce (played by Damson Idris) which is learning a training program on simulators, and who views Sonny as his teacher and idol.

Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), the bookstore owner, clashes with sponsors’ demands, while Kate McKenna (Kerry Condon), the technical chief, counters Hayes’s instincts with extensive wind-tunnel data.

Above all stands venture-capital watchdog Peter Banning (Tobias Menzies), who audits the budget after every race weekend and at least once annually.

The formula is quite traditional, there is a driver that is old, a driver that is young, the garage race team with a small budget though but Formula One politics is cutthroat, which further makes the story even contemporary as compared to the usual sports movie.

Cast and preparation

Brad Pitt drove an oversimplified Formula 2 prototype in live sessions at Silverstone and the Hungaroring, with FIA and Mercedes engineers looking on. Damson Idris worked in a simulator at Mercedes shield-AMG PETRONAS, and simulated realistic pedaling time for close ups in the cockpit. Kerry Condon dispels the debates at the garage with her usual warmth and her tough attitude. Javier Bardem is a boss with a lot of charisma and not much money.

Cinematography and technical approach

Behind the camera, Kosinski reunites with Oscar-winning cinematographer Claudio Miranda, whose light rigs turn Navy cockpits into roller-coaster rides.

They mounted 6K cameras on two modified custom cars known as APX cars which shoot 360 degree shots that shake popcorn.

Visual style and practical effects

According to Kosinski, this project is a musical piece of carbon fibre and human ego. It will be of a cool metal shade with a shiny orange brake disc and photographer strobe in the parking area. The filmmakers will replace digital crashes with real ones, while the pyrotechnics team builds front wings designed to break as planned and allow quick resets.

It is all filmed in full-fitted engineering bays inside the Warner Bros. Leavesden. Monitors on the walls have live telemetry pictures, the figures are self explanatory, and derived directly off a Mercedes test bench. Mechanics would train on tyre changing in two seconds until they have sore knuckles. To watch it viewers they wish to feel it first.

Music and sound

The press kit by Apple has no composer, something that is abnormal at such a late stage of production. It is not known with whom Kosinski will collaborate again (as in Maverick), with the producers of Lady Gaga orchestral-synth, or whether he will employ those of F1 who are masters of orchestra-synth. One thing is evident: the final version will cover real-life sounds of its engine, which will be recorded through throat microphones (throat mics) on V-6 turbo-hybrid vehicles during winter testing.

Themes

Legacy vs. Innovation – APXG is shoestring vs modern F1 because of budgets and data prohibitions; this shift has been manifested in their relocation. Mentorship and Mortality – Hayes has to lose the keys of young generation and not evaporate in the mean time. Nobody is a professional Sport, the masquerading one, the personal success – A thousand men make a car; there are two drivers.

Pros

• Strong emphasis on real Formula One tracks and race weekends.
• High level of practical filming with minimal reliance on green screens.
• Experienced creative team with Joseph Kosinski and Claudio Miranda.
• Actors trained in real simulators and on real circuits.
• Focus on teamwork, legacy, and modern Formula One politics.

Cons

• The sports drama formula is quite traditional.
• Heavy technical detail may feel overwhelming for casual viewers.
• Key creative elements such as the music score remain undisclosed.

Anticipation and expectations

Through the real cameras attached to the real F-18 aircrafts, Kosinski restored the excitement of the aerial photography. The viewers would watch the film as long as he could transfer that kinetic sincerity onto the tarmac, and give Pitt and Idris the emotional angles to which they require to equalize the curves of degradation of the tyres.

In the meantime the pit light is crimson. But, on the end of June 2025, when the starter gantry rings, and those special APX cars rip out of the pit-lane, those speakers in the cinema theatres will be stuffed right to the brim with the most Hollywood the sound of real turbo operating with real grandstands. It is why it is the reason that makes F1: The Movie worth taking a lap.