F1 (M) - 2 hours 35 minutes

With the old and the new butting heads, F1 is a tense, exciting, motor racing thrill ride.

A budding Formula 1 champion from 30+ years ago is prevailed upon to return to the sport that almost killed him to help the new breed.

Of the former, I speak of Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), who had talent and smarts to burn, before a tragic accident. 

With so much promise, thereafter it all fell apart for him.

He gambled away his money, had a series of failed relationships and carries with him the mental and physical scars.

Still, he wasn’t lost to motor sport entirely.

Now free as a bird, he lives hand to mouth in a van and picks up pay cheques at lower levels, having just claimed the Daytona 24-hour race.

That is when his former teammate and rival Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem) comes knocking.

Cervantes is now owner of a struggling Formula 1 team, which hasn’t been in the top 10 of finishers in any of the three years he has been at the helm.

With nine races left in the current season, the board is plotting to remove him, unless he can break through.

The odds are stacked against him and his cocky, rookie lead driver Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), whose head is also on the chopping block.

So, in desperation, Cervantes turns to the tactically clever Hayes (his ninth choice) to tackle the seemingly impossible.

He will become the team’s second driver and help “educate” Pearce.

With a decidedly unconventional approach, Hayes and Pearce, and Hayes and members of the support team will inevitably clash.

The questions are does Hayes still have what it takes and are they prepared to listen to him?

F1, the movie is visually arresting. Claudio Miranda’s (Top Gun: Maverick) cinematography and Ben Munro’s production design are outstanding. They well capture the excitement of Formula 1 racing.

Julian Day’s costuming adds style and elegance.

Mixing it up with the real-life heroes of the track works particularly well and should certainly fire up motor sport aficionados.

The ongoing push/pull between many parties – teammates, the team principal and the board, the team mainstays and the recycled driver – serves to heighten the drama.

Hans Zimmer’s dynamic score ratchets up the tension.

Brad Pitt’s charisma undoubtedly elevates the picture. He has been making good movies for a long time and he still has the X factor. He is such a natural performer and the flawed hero he plays here suits him to a T.

I also appreciated the strength of characterisation of Kerry Condon as the team’s technical director, Kate McKenna, who forms a special bond with Sonny.

Javier Bardem has gravitas and guile as the under-pressure team principal.

Damson Idris shows fight as the self-confident new kid on the block, Joshua Pearce, and the highly geared dynamic between Pitt and him works.

Tobias Menzies brings pomposity and arrogance to his role as Peter Banning, a most influential board member.

Sarah Niles generates heft in her presentation as Joshua’s protective mother, Bernadette.

Co-writer (with Ehren Kruger) and director Joseph Kosinski has crafted an entertaining and engaging narrative.

I felt invested in the film, although the 2 hour 35 minute running time could have been pared back without losing anything of substance.

Still, F1 undoubtedly takes its place alongside Ford v Ferrari as a substantive, top tier motor racing movie.

Rated M, it scores a 7½ to 8 out of 10.