“F1 The Movie” follows driver-for-hire Sonny Hayes, opening with him racing at the 24 Hours of Daytona. After clinching the win, Hayes is approached by an old teammate and owner of a struggling fictional F1 team (APXGP), Rubén Cervantes, offering a chance to return to F1. After two and a half seasons, Cervantes is $350 million in the hole, and if APXGP doesn’t win one of the nine remaining races, the board will sell the team. Although he initially refuses, Hayes is eventually convinced. Later, Hayes meets rookie Joshua Pearce. Pearce has his own concerns: if APXGP is sold to new ownership, his F1 career will be over. Hayes struggles in the car, but manages to be competitive with Pearce. The camera work, during this scene in particular, is stunning. The actors drove real F2 cars for this movie, and they were not wasted. The camera work does justice to the intensity of driving an F1 car, bringing the viewer right into the cockpit.

For those not enticed by a Hollywood blockbuster focused on the pinnacle of motorsports or by two hours and thirty-five minutes of Brad Pitt, perhaps Hans Zimmer will lure you in. The scoring on this movie is truly incredible and is as essential to advancing the plot as the characters. Zimmer returns to his classic utilization of long, low notes to represent silence in the film, most potently during Hayes’ final, race-winning lap. The scene is powerful, and Zimmer’s scoring choice brings you into Hayes’ emotional state. But do not let that overshadow the rest of his work on this film. The musical theme for the movie, titled simply “F1,” is introduced during the title card sequence of the film, and boy, is it powerful! Paired with the stunning visuals of Pearce on a test lap, the song captures the feeling of Formula 1’s speed.

But Hayes’ introduction to the sport is not smooth, with both his teammate and the press attacking him. Pearce is strong-armed by his mother into apologizing, but Hayes brushes it off as not a big deal, which angers Pearce and spills over into the British Grand Prix. The two race each other aggressively, eventually causing them both to crash. In Hungary, Hayes’ headstrong behavior continues when he causes multiple crashes with other drivers to move Pearce up the standings. A quick pitstop near the end of the race keeps Pearce in P10 and earns APXGP their first point of the season. However, at the next race in Monza, APXGP is sent to the back of the grid for Hayes’ antics. With some help from Hayes, Pearce manages to fight his way to P2, but tries to overtake too early. His car flies off the track and lands hard, catching on fire. Hayes rushes to his aid, but the burns to Pearce’s hands will cost him three races, and both Pearce’s mother and the press blame Hayes.

Over the next three races, Hayes performs well and scores points for the team. When Pearce returns at the Belgian Grand Prix, his insecurities prove troublesome when he attempts an unnecessary overtake and ends Hayes’ race. Pearce “swans” about this, leading to a physical argument. Fed up with the drivers constantly crashing into each other, technical director Kate McKenna organizes a “team meeting,” attempting to force them to bond over poker. During the conversation, Hayes tells Joshua to ignore all the noise of fans and media, before letting Joshua win the game and the prize of the number one driver. However, their well-performing car is disqualified while under investigation. An already-rattled Hayes misses his pre-race ritual of drawing a random card, and he drives recklessly and crashes. In the hospital, Rubén reveals to Hayes that he knows about the injuries from his crash 30 years ago: a fractured C5 vertebrae and screws in his spine, leading Rubén to fire Hayes over the risks to his health. Meanwhile, Joshua takes Hayes’ advice, telling his manager that he doesn’t care about the noise of the media and sponsors anymore.

Women are chronically underrepresented in F1, and some voices in the sport even advocate directly against their presence. F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone has gone on record saying he doesn’t believe women are able to drive cars as fast as is required in F1. Former driver Sir Stirling Moss has said that women lack the mental aptitude to race in Formula 1.

That being said, some aspects of this movie draw criticism, the biggest being its portrayal of women in F1. Jodie, a pitstop gunner who messes up a tire removal and beats herself up about it, manages to become a perfect gunner again with just a little encouragement from Hayes. McKennaKate abandons her entire car design because Hayes, someone who hasn’t driven in Formula 1 in decades, suggests it.

In this context, Hayes’ relationships with McKenna and Jodie become even more troubling.

For the final race of the season, Hayes says, “If the last thing I do is drive that car, I will take that life, man. A thousand times.” From the beginning of the race, Pearce is more patient, earning him a track position. A red-flagged crash between Hayes and Russell gives the team the chance to repair Hayes’ car and switch both cars to faster tires. When the race resumes, Pearce and Hayes work together to get past Leclerc and Hamilton, with Hayes giving up the lead to Pearce. However, when Pearce and Hamilton crash, the race lead and the win are handed to Hayes. Before he leaves, Hayes says goodbye to Pearce and McKenna, and the film closes on Hayes about to start the Baja 1000.

Many aspects of this movie deserve praise, one being how embedded it is in the world of F1. Seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton was the executive producer of the film.  And those commentators you hear throughout the movie? That’s Martin Brundle and David Croft, the real-life F1 commentators! Even the commentator for the 24 Hours of Daytona event is accurate—that’s Leigh Duffey, who’s commentated on Formula 1, Indycar, NASCAR, IMSA, and more.

But while the F1 aspects were fleshed out, some portions of the plot development were clearly cut. This is most obvious in the McKenna/HayesS romance plotline. Later, when Hayes challenges her on the design of the car, McKenna pushes back. She questions why Hayes has returned to F1 at all, pointing out that F1 is a team sport and suggesting that his disregard for that fact is why he never did well. She even goes as far as to imply that she believes rather than being a “has-been,” Hayes is a “never-was.” But a week later, after the Hungarian Grand Prix, she’s redesigning the car for him and telling him about her divorce. Then, after the poker game in Vegas, she tells him that she doesn’t mess around during the season, especially not with her team members. And yet, the immediate next scene is them hooking up! The entire romance plot feels disconnected, which just ends up contributing to the poor development of McKenna’s character in this movie.

My final assessment? F1 The Movie is an enjoyable Hollywood romp into motorsports and, for better and for worse, a fairly honest representation of F1.