F1 The Movie: Corners, Cows, Chaos and Combat and other details related to wearing socks fit for a miracle.

 


Warning: Spoiler Alert! Details of the movie will be discussed.

 My favorite movie used to be and most days still is A Perfect Day mainly because it includes the line: “dessert? Did you know about this dessert?”[1] But I have kind of developed a crush of sorts on the movie F1.[2] I do realize that it is a typical Hollywood cliché and that it appears to be a scrapbook collection of memories from past movies but what draws me into the movie is the search to find a way through the corner, discover why one is here, live in the moment one loves, and choose for life to be a miracle.        

Two Meals

While the constant cornering nightmares (whether real or imagined), the discussion of swans, reoccurring questions (why are you smiling, have you seen a miracle, etc.), the number seven, themes of attraction, mismatched socks, combat, chaos, trickery, team building, friendship illustrate aspects of what draws me into the movie, arguably at the heart of that picture are two conversations. The first is between Sonny and the waitress at the diner. The second between JP and his mother, Bernadette Pierce. 

In the first the waitress counsels Sonny to consider "what is it about then?"[3] This question then builds into the driving question of the movie: “Why are you here Sonny Hayes?”[4] A question which reaches climax at the very end when on a beach a young man repeats the question: “what is it about then?”[5] To which Sonny responds with a laugh. Things that can be explained rarely make sense.

In the second conversation Bernadette lovingly offers for her son to hold unto the immortal words "You can spend your whole life worrying about other people but your time is here now."[6] These words compiled with the rest of the wisdom she provides Joshua over a home cooked meal surgically put on display the complete raw beating heart of the movie: Let the noise quiet. Do you still love it? Put your head down and drive: your time is here now (paraphrased, mainly in order, from the movie).[7] Miracles are not shortcuts to victory but those few moments of authenticity in which it is seen what it really means to be human.

            And yes there will be hard work and it might take three weeks or thirty years of recovery but sometimes choosing for my life to be a miracle can start with a simple step of wearing mismatched socks. I know the movie is a cliché, I know I don’t always win the race, and often I crash when I come to the corner, but when I watch F1 I find a moment of hope. For in a world of over commercialized survivalism it is refreshing to see people choosing to love in the moment they are in.

Notes

I do have a few misgivings about F1.

Kate’s vibrant and larger-than-life character feels undercut by the trajectory of the film. Why doesn’t Sonny trust her to build a car that can beat Red Bull and Maclaren on pure speed? I mean besides it creating complications for the whole combat storyline thingy. And why does it seem her only reason to succeed is to prove people wrong which seems shallow. I want her to have that pure moment and I think doing so might have made the film better.

I am also a little confused on who Kasper is and I think the script is as well. While I enjoyed Kim Bodina’s acting and the character’s choice in the last race to lead by serving or his response when being interviewed, etc., the character’s role as team principal does not appear to be clearly defined within the confines of the team. I want to see more of him as a good team leader. But a lot of the day to day running of the team is left out and maybe to make the scene of him taking on the role of rear jackman more poignant there was a felt need for the earlier characterization in the movie for the movie does strive to create a narrative arc for each of its characters.

One final criticism is the choice to have Bernadette be the voice of the statement “that don’t make no sense”[8] to Ruben’s “sometimes when you lose you win.”[9] I do like the interaction, how the conversation transitions nicely with the announcer’s comments and the lines make the movie so much more but Sarah Niles’s character seems like she would not need that explained to her. But what other character in the setting would need that explanation?

Continually Starting Over

            Why are you here Sonny Hayes? The most telling response is not his explanation on a Las Vegas balcony which feels like it is mimicking Shelby’s seven thousand RPM drama in Ford vs. Ferrari but his smile at the end. For the movie captures one of the quintessential longings of the human heart: not to win a race or have glory or a steady supply of warm cookies and milk but to be authentically, completely, unconditionally oneself. To be able to be who one is and…happy. And even though plot elements, character developments, the striving to win outlined in a basic team building/romantic moral lesson which keeps tripping over persistent questions seems to undercut this narrative hype in the end these complications serve as corners to navigate to get back to the beginning continually starting over discovering one’s heart and learning to love life afresh each day.


[1] Aranoa, F. L. de. (2015). A Perfect Day [Film]. Mediapro, Reposado Producciones, Televisión Española.

[2] Kosinski, J. (Director). (2025). F1 [Film]. Apple Original Films; Jerry Bruckheimer Films; Plan B Entertainment; Monolith Pictures; Dawn Apollo Films.

[4] Kosinski, J. (Director). (2025). F1 [Film]. Apple Original Films; Jerry Bruckheimer Films; Plan B Entertainment; Monolith Pictures; Dawn Apollo Films.

[5] Kosinski, J. (Director). (2025). F1 [Film]. Apple Original Films; Jerry Bruckheimer Films; Plan B Entertainment; Monolith Pictures; Dawn Apollo Films.

[6] Kosinski, J. (Director). (2025). F1 [Film]. Apple Original Films; Jerry Bruckheimer Films; Plan B Entertainment; Monolith Pictures; Dawn Apollo Films.

[8] Kosinski, J. (Director). (2025). F1 [Film]. Apple Original Films; Jerry Bruckheimer Films; Plan B Entertainment; Monolith Pictures; Dawn Apollo Films.

[9] Kosinski, J. (Director). (2025). F1 [Film]. Apple Original Films; Jerry Bruckheimer Films; Plan B Entertainment; Monolith Pictures; Dawn Apollo Films.

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The Rusty Sage Brush is a blog that attempts to take life and experience it like a child full wonder, questions, curiosity and play (with a special emphasis on play): a metaphorical dancing in the rain. To this end there will be words and at times, even, sentences. These objects will be organized into stories, poems, lists, and essays.

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Currently, the voices are limited and do not have any critical, creative, or useful writing skills, but as this is being published on the internet the writer does feel a little overqualified. The person behind this blog is named James. He lives to write, chase sunsets, listen to the stories around him, fix old cars that nobody else wants, bake bread, and tell jokes that cause mass suffering but for those few seconds each day when he can be serious what he really wants is to help people find meaning, learn to play and approach each day with love.

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I hope you enjoy.

James

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