My take on F1 the movie

Mrs Frog and I ventured into an IMAX theatre Sunday evening to watch the new F1 movie. I told Mrs Frog in advance that it may not be a rom-com to later be shown on the Hallmark channel. But in the end she enjoyed it... although I did a lot of explaining of what was going on. Over all a good movie for novices to F1. Doesn't take as long to watch as viewing all of "Drive to Survive". As always serious F1 fans will see errors and find fault. But it is Hollywood.

The one thing that stuck with me: The lead character shows up early in a 70's vintage van. Both of us said, "There's DaveW ! ". It was a Ford, like the van GT1Vette drove in the 70s. Dave drives a Chevy. But it is a 70s van in a 2024 story none the less. Much like a FRP paddock me thinks.

After following the whole story line of the movie... what I keep wondering... Is Red Bull about to call up DaveW to solve their problems with a good team mate for Verstappen???

Fine sleuthing, ‘Lumbo.

It’s true:
— Brad Pitt is indeed DaveW
— DaveW is indeed Kimi Antonelli
— Kimi Antonelli is indeed Tom Cruise
— Tom Cruise is indeed Brad Pitt

And so on.

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Originally Posted by Purple Frog

...After following the whole story line of the movie... what I keep wondering... Is Red Bull about to call up DaveW to solve their problems with a good team mate for Verstappen???

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I know you're just kidding, but...

:rolleyes: 82 YO in F1? LOL

Even if I were 40 years younger, I was never as driven or as talented as the Sonny Hayes character.

On that note, Sherrie and I watched "F1" Saturday at a Cinemax XD movie theatre.

Very good. The main thing I thought was not very realistic was too many spins/contacts on track where cars were able to continue.

I really connected with the characters' emotions.

Simply a Tom Cruise style mega-yarn. I felt it showed F1 in a poor light - almost like NASCAR. Causing 3 staged safety cars in one race, while clearly indicating it on the radio, would have elicited some sort of reaction from the stewards. Causing a crash to bring out the safety car was what got Briatore banned in the first place (Nelson Piqurt, Jr.). CGI shots inserting real F1 drivers were poorly done. Several actual incidents from F1 over the decades were copied. The scene of Pitt lying in the road at the Spanish GP was almost a carbon copy of Martin Donnely's accident - down to the same car. Combination of Grosjean's crash and Niki's crash. Heroic return after suffering burns. Very trite. No serious mention of qualifying.

That said. For $12 it was something to do on a rainy afternoon. Theater was only about half full. Surprising.

On the Hoakey-meter I'm not sure which was worse: "Top Gun: Maverick" or this. Should not be mentioned in the same breath as "Grand Prix" or "Rush." Much closer to "Driven".

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Originally Posted by Charles Warner

Much closer to "Driven".

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I agree Charlie. Its essentially the same plot, Brad Pitt just didn't hum over the radio while picking up quarters with his rear tires.

Sometimes we forget a movie with race cars is better than a movie without race cars.

That did change with Driven, or Freejack, or decades before with Redline 7000… though the latter was still great fun.

All in All, I think we got lucky with Rush and Ford vs. Ferrari… and I wish the long-rumored film Gilles would happen.

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Originally Posted by Charles Warner

Much closer to "Driven".

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I bought "Driven" on DVD just to have it in my racing movie collection but refuse to unseal it from the cellophane. Horrible.
Even "Bobby Deerfield" was better than "Driven"...(oops, I just aged myself) LOL
Glenn :mad::ha:

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Originally Posted by Purple Frog

...As always serious F1 fans will see errors and find fault....

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I found the errors in Ford v Ferrari (for instance, shifting down to go faster on a straight when already at top speed) more annoying than the ones in "F1".

Since we suspended disbelief enough to let the good parts take over, Sherrie & I found "F1" enjoyable. I guess I'm not critical enough to be a movie critic. We go to movies 95% to be entertained, not to purposely look for stuff that could be inaccurate.

:)

My wife and I saw it over the weekend. She enjoyed it. I was critical of some parts of the movie as any racer would be. But I did like how they pointed out how F1 of the 90's is vastly different than the cars and drivers of today. In the 90's, the emphasis seemed to be more on the drivers. Now it's more about the cars and throwing truck-loads of money at more and more technology.

During the previews at the showing of F1 that my wife and I attended there was a promo for the new Gilles movie with a summer 2026 date. As a kid Gilles was everything F1 to me.


Brian.

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Originally Posted by DaveW

I found the errors in Ford v Ferrari (for instance, shifting down to go faster on a straight when already at top speed) more annoying than the ones in "F1".

Since we suspended disbelief enough to let the good parts take over, Sherrie & I found "F1" enjoyable. I guess I'm not critical enough to be a movie critic. We go to movies 95% to be entertained, not to purposely look for stuff that could be inaccurate.

:)

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I remember seeing that downshift-to-go-faster bit and thinking, "Damn!! I've been doing it wrong."

I agree with Dave that we should watch these movies more as entertainment than as any exact reflection of reality. I imagine that Apexers' reactions to F1 are similar to a policeman's to a cop show or a doctor's to a hospital drama.

For my money, Grand Prix did the best job of representing real people doing real things in and out of racecars, particularly given the technical era in which it was made.

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Originally Posted by Brian Graham

During the previews at the showing of F1 that my wife and I attended there was a promo for the new Gilles movie with a summer 2026 date. As a kid Gilles was everything F1 to me.


Brian.

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As I recall, at my first Bulova race (Mosport) in the Spring of 1972, Gilles was also in a F/ Ford. And as I also recall, neither of us finished the race

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Originally Posted by kea

As I recall, at my first Bulova race (Mosport) in the Spring of 1972, Gilles was also in a F/ Ford. And as I also recall, neither of us finished the race

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I'll always remember him in the Formula Atlantic/B cars more so than F1. He was a rare talent.

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Originally Posted by Charles Warner

Simply a Tom Cruise style mega-yarn. I felt it showed F1 in a poor light - almost like NASCAR. Causing 3 staged safety cars in one race, while clearly indicating it on the radio, would have elicited some sort of reaction from the stewards. Causing a crash to bring out the safety car was what got Briatore banned in the first place (Nelson Piqurt, Jr.). CGI shots inserting real F1 drivers were poorly done. Several actual incidents from F1 over the decades were copied. The scene of Pitt lying in the road at the Spanish GP was almost a carbon copy of Martin Donnely's accident - down to the same car. Combination of Grosjean's crash and Niki's crash. Heroic return after suffering burns. Very trite. No serious mention of qualifying.

That said. For $12 it was something to do on a rainy afternoon. Theater was only about half full. Surprising.

On the Hoakey-meter I'm not sure which was worse: "Top Gun: Maverick" or this. Should not be mentioned in the same breath as "Grand Prix" or "Rush." Much closer to "Driven".

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Totally agree with this synopsis

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Originally Posted by Brian Graham

During the previews at the showing of F1 that my wife and I attended there was a promo for the new Gilles movie with a summer 2026 date. As a kid Gilles was everything F1 to me.


Brian.

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I recently watched a documentary on Gilles and Didier Pironi that was really outstanding. I would think it is still available on Amazon Prime.