Critical Reception and Legacy (F1) F1
F1 (2025) opened to generally positive reviews, became Apple's highest-grossing film, broke records as the highest-grossing auto racing film of all time, and earned four Academy Award nominations including Best Picture. A sequel was greenlit in February 2026.
Critical consensus: technically dazzling, narratively predictable
The film holds an 82% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 358 critics, with the consensus reading: "Driven by Brad Pitt's laidback magnetism and sporting a souped-up engine courtesy of Joseph Kosinski's kinetic direction, the film brings vintage cool across the finish line." On Metacritic, the film scored 68/100 from 56 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Audiences were warmer: the film earned an "A" CinemaScore and a 92% positive PostTrak score with 78% recommending. (rottentomatoes, wikipedia)
Positive reviews praised Pitt, the racing sequences, and Kosinski's direction
"A deft addition to a sturdy lineage of motorsport flicks." — Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter (2025)
"Nothing is exactly new... yet immensely, rewardingly renewable — a true blue box of recycled cinematic trash, compacted into something irresistibly bright and shiny." — Barry Hertz, The Globe and Mail (2025)
"Pleasures engineered to bypass the brain. It's muscular and thrilling and zippy." — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times (2025)
"Pitt is the one you want to see strolling down the racing track." — Sam Adams, Slate (2025)
Mixed and negative reviews found the story formulaic and the sport alienating
"An enjoyably arranged collection of all the visual attractions and narrative clichés that money can buy." — Manohla Dargis, The New York Times (2025)
The BBC's Nicholas Barrow gave the film two of five stars, warning that non-F1 enthusiasts would find little reason to engage. Several motorsport publications offered their own split verdict: Top Gear called it "crowd-pleasing, feel-good," while Motor Sport deemed it "comedically unrealistic." Racer praised the racing sequences but criticized character development, particularly Kate McKenna's portrayal. Road & Track called it "entertaining, but hardcore racing fans will wince." (wikipedia)
Max Verstappen skipped the film's premiere. Carlos Sainz Jr. cautioned "pure F1 fans" to approach it with open minds.
Box office: $634 million worldwide and Apple's first hit
The film grossed $634 million worldwide against a $200-300 million budget — $189.6 million domestically and $444.4 million internationally. It opened to $146.3 million globally, with a $57 million domestic opening weekend that topped the box office. It was Apple's first film to reach number one at the box office.
Key milestones: the film surpassed $200 million in its second weekend, overtook Brad Pitt's previous career high (World War Z, $540 million) in early August, and became the highest-grossing auto racing film of all time and the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2025. Variety reported an expected theatrical profit of around $34 million. (wikipedia)
Four Academy Award nominations, one win
The 98th Academy Awards recognized the film's technical achievements:
| Category | Result |
|---|---|
| Best Picture | Nominated |
| Best Film Editing (Stephen Mirrione) | Nominated |
| Best Sound (Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary Rizzo, Juan Peralta) | Won |
| Best Visual Effects (Ryan Tudhope, Nicolas Chevallier, Robert Harrington, Keith Dawson) | Nominated |
The film also won Best Sound and was nominated for Best Visual Effects and Best Editing at the 79th BAFTA Awards. The Critics' Choice Awards gave it wins for Best Editing and Best Sound. Damson Idris won Best Supporting Actor from the African-American Film Critics Association. Kerry Condon won the IFTA Film & Drama Award for Best Supporting Actress. The National Board of Review named it one of the top ten films of the year. (wikipedia)
Hans Zimmer's score earned praise as a hybrid orchestral-electronic achievement
Zimmer composed the film's score — his second F1-related work after Rush (2013) and his thirteenth collaboration with producer Jerry Bruckheimer, beginning with Days of Thunder (1990). He described envisioning the orchestra as "the human that sits inside the machine" with electronics representing the machine itself.
"I wanted to do as much electronic music as possible, because I wanted the sounds to echo the sounds of the machines." — Hans Zimmer, The Hollywood Reporter (2025)
A recurring "gunslinger motif" represents Sonny Hayes throughout the score. The soundtrack album F1 the Album released day-and-date with the North American theatrical debut, featuring tracks by Don Toliver and Doja Cat, Rosé, Ed Sheeran, Chris Stapleton, and Tate McRae. Stapleton's "Bad As I Used To Be" won the Grammy for Best Country Solo Performance. (wikipedia, zanobardreviews)
A sequel was greenlit in February 2026
Following the film's commercial success, Variety reported sequel discussions and the Financial Times noted franchise potential. A sequel was officially greenlit in February 2026. Kosinski expressed interest in returning:
"It's fun to think about what circumstances could bring him back into the world of Formula 1." — Joseph Kosinski, The Hollywood Reporter (2025)