Film news: The official ‘F1: The Movie’ trailer breakdown - All that you need to know
Brought to audiences by Apple TV+ and Warner Bros. Pictures, F1: The Movie has been in the news ever since it made headlines for filming actual scenes as early as the 2023 Silverstone Grand Prix.
With Brad Pitt and Damson Idris headlining an all-star cast, the anticipation for its June opening has reached an all-time high as the final ‘main’ trailer has now been released.
Ahead of the electric feature’s June release, Film News Blitz’s Joe Matthews is here to talk you through all the key moments that took place in the official trailer.
What do we already know about F1: The Movie?
Brad Pitt is the feature’s leading man, Sonny Hayes, a former retired motorsports driver from the U.S. with a revived point to prove on the F1 circuit.
He is persuaded by friend and APXGP F1 team boss, Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem) to join the travelling circus of F1 to guide a struggling team up the standings.
He is then tasked to work alongside the young hotshot and teammate Joshua ‘Noah’ Pearce, played by Idris; who is looking to establish himself on the F1 circuit.
We know these two will clash both on and off the race track, and the film’s realistic approach to filming modern racing is one that looks to establish the making of a true modern blockbuster.
Bardem and Kerry Condon’s Kate (the team’s technical director) are also set to play crucial roles, with both featuring heavily in all of the F1 trailers so far.
There are already several striking quotes highlighted in the trailers, with Bardem and Condon’s characters setting the tone.
To the soundtrack of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain”, F1’s first official trailer opened with a monologue from Ruben talking about Hayes.
He says, “Some people look at Sonny Hayes - they see a guy who lives in a van, a gambling junkie who missed his shot, the best that never was, but I see possibility.”
The fantastic opener is followed by what we are sure will become an iconic moment, as Hayes and Pearce argue over who won a race most recently, before Kate delivers possibly the most striking line of all, saying, “They’re saying Sonny Hayes isn’t a ‘has-been’, he’s a ‘never-was’.”
What the final trailer reveals
With the official trailer releasing with just over a month to go until its release date on June 27, there are several new details that were revealed.
While we were already aware that the storyline heavily revolved around the conflict between Hayes and Pearce, the official trailer seems to focus solely on this dynamic.
We actually see an on-track crash between the two APXGP drivers.
Perhaps this directional shift is trying to show us that the rivalry will be not just a side-story, but perhaps it will take up almost the entirety of the story.
Their battle is set to push one another to the limits, and should the conflict be resolved at some point in the film, the common ground they find is likely going to make them a formidable team in the story.
We even see Hayes overtake the Red Bull of Max Verstappen at around 1:04 in the trailer, represented by the highlighter yellow strip above the air intake, near the driver’s head.
What will likely become an iconic moment between the two frontmen is when Pearce says during a team meeting, “We’ve just got to hope for some lucky breaks.”
To which Hayes responds, “Hope is not a strategy.”
Ultimately, fans of film and fans of Formula One can band together in their excitement for what looks to be one of the films of the year, as the sport we have come to know and love has been brought to life like never before.
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