I should have seen this on the big screen. I’ve been a fan of Joseph Kosinski since Tron. There’s a couple of his films that have slipped by me, but every one that I’ve seen, I’ve enjoyed. F1 is no different.

With Jerry Bruckheimer producing you know it’s going to be slick and fast-paced, but this isn’t 80s/90s Bruckheimer. It’s still fast and furious, but it’s filled with character and story.

Brad Pitt turns in an enjoyable performance as Sonny Hayes, an aging car driver, who is recruited by his former partner, Ruben (Javier Bardem) to help save him and his racing company. With the company in jeopardy, Sonny is a huge gamble as the board is moving against Ruben. He comes across as reckless, but he’s got a plan.

He’s got the experience behind the wheel, though he’s haunted and pained by an accident decades previous. Can he work with the company’s lead driver? Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris) is brash. He’s got talent, but not wisdom. He thinks he’s in it for the money and the fame, and he can get it. If he can be patient, and learn.

There’s some nice character work, watching the crew bond behind Hayes, and Pearce reconciling what he really wants, but the film works best (after you’re emotionally invested in the characters) with the racing.

Taking everything he’s learned from his previous films, he puts the viewer (and the actors apparently) right in the driver’s seat. And the sequences are nothing short of stunning. Using actual race weekends to capture footage, and cameras mounted on the race vehicles, the film is an adrenaline rush.

The only things the film is really missing are stronger needle drops. There are some solid songs in the film, but one might expect more from a Bruckheimer production – or perhaps that is just nostalgia looking back at the 80s. There is a solid score by Hans Zimmer, that is the pulse of the race track.

I’m sure there are things about this that real race aficionados may have problems with, but the entertainment value of this film is fantastic. I found myself pulled into it. Pitt is incredibly likable as Sonny, there’s a charm there that comes with age and acceptance of who you are, and both Pitt and Sonny seem to have that.

It’s fun to see the way Sonny unites the team, and how he teaches those same things to Jordan without coming right out and doing it.

The editing is tight, the production design stunning, and the locations, locations, locations are all amazing.

This one has already found its way onto my rewatch list. It’s big, enjoyable, and Pitt carries it easily, while letting all of those around him shine as well.

There are great character beats, but in the end you just want to see them drive the car. And in that regard, this one takes the checkered flag.