Plot Summary (F1) F1
A section-by-section retelling of the story of F1 (2025), drawn from the film itself and verified against published plot summaries and reviews.
Sonny Hayes wins the 24 Hours of Daytona and gets a call from his past
Sonny Hayes, once the most promising Formula One driver of the 1990s, had his career destroyed by a catastrophic crash at the 1993 Spanish Grand Prix. Thirty years later, he races sportscars under the radar. At the 24 Hours of Daytona, driving for Chip Hart Racing, Sonny wins the endurance race — a victory that proves he still has the talent and nerve for top-level motorsport.
"Dubbed 'the greatest that never was,' Sonny Hayes was Formula One's most promising phenom of the 1990s." — Apple Original Films, F1 The Movie — Official Synopsis (2025)
His former Lotus teammate Rubén Cervantes, now the owner of a struggling Formula One team called APXGP, contacts Sonny with a proposition. APXGP is on the verge of collapse — they must win at least one of nine remaining Grands Prix or face sale to outside investors who will gut the team. Rubén wants Sonny as his second driver, paired with the team's ambitious young rookie, Joshua Pearce. (wikipedia)
Sonny clashes with Joshua and struggles to find his footing
Sonny arrives at APXGP and immediately encounters friction with Joshua, who views the aging comeback driver as a threat to his own ambitions rather than an asset. The team's technical director, Kate McKenna, works to integrate Sonny into a racing environment that has changed dramatically in three decades — data-driven strategy has replaced the gut instinct Sonny relied on in the 1990s.
"There was an early version where Sonny wasn't driving right away and he was the team principal. But as we got further into the development, it became clear that the most cinematic version of the story was to put him back in the car." — Ehren Kruger, The Hollywood Reporter (2025)
At the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, both APXGP drivers crash out of the race — an embarrassment that threatens the team's survival. The generational clash between Sonny and Joshua plays out on and off the track: Sonny worships mechanical sympathy and reading the car, while Joshua trusts telemetry and data above all else. (wikipedia)
Sonny bends the rules at Hungary and Joshua crashes at Monza
At the Hungarian Grand Prix, Sonny exploits a loophole in the safety car regulations, deliberately triggering safety car deployments that disrupt the field and allow Joshua to score points — the team's first of the season. It is a tactical masterstroke that demonstrates Sonny's deep knowledge of racing strategy, even if his methods provoke controversy.
The rain-affected Italian Grand Prix at Monza becomes the film's first major crisis. Sonny reads the changing conditions and advises Joshua on tire strategy, but the younger driver refuses to listen — his arrogance costs him as he crashes spectacularly. Joshua is injured and forced to miss races while recovering. The crash sequence was filmed at Brands Hatch standing in for Monza, with practical fire effects.
"Those were the biggest flames I've ever seen in my life. Brad and I were really in there." — Damson Idris, The Hollywood Reporter (2025)
Joshua returns and deliberately crashes into Sonny at Spa
When Joshua returns to racing at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, the tension between the teammates escalates beyond rivalry into sabotage. Joshua, still burning with resentment, deliberately crashes into Sonny on track — an act of recklessness that endangers both drivers and could destroy the team's remaining cars.
Kate McKenna organizes a poker game to force the two drivers into the same room and ease the tension. The evening works: Sonny and Joshua begin to find common ground. Kate and Sonny also grow closer, eventually becoming romantically involved. (wikipedia)
Peter Banning's sabotage is exposed
Meanwhile, Kate's engineering upgrades to the APXGP car face legal challenges after an anonymous tip alleges they violate technical regulations. Sonny investigates and discovers that the saboteur is Peter Banning, a member of APXGP's own board of directors. Banning orchestrated Sonny's signing in the first place — not to save the team, but as part of a long-game scheme to ensure APXGP fails, making it ripe for acquisition.
Banning offers Sonny compensation to walk away and let the team collapse. Sonny refuses. The corporate conspiracy adds stakes beyond the racing: APXGP's survival is threatened from within as well as on the track. (wikipedia)
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix finale
The season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina becomes the team's last chance. Joshua and Sonny must work together against the sport's dominant forces — Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc among them.
A collision with George Russell sends Sonny into the barrier, but the resulting red flag stops the race and forces a restart — compressing the remaining distance into a three-lap sprint. APXGP's earlier qualifying failure becomes an asset: they have unused fresh soft tires that no other team possesses.
On the restart, Sonny and Joshua execute coordinated passing maneuvers — Sonny decoys Leclerc while Joshua slingshots past, then Sonny draws Hamilton's defense so Joshua can take the lead. Hamilton retaliates against Sonny, and contact between Hamilton and Joshua takes both off the track — leaving Sonny alone in P1. Despite blurring vision from his old injuries, Sonny completes the final lap for his first-ever Formula One victory, securing APXGP's future. Joshua, offered a seat at Mercedes by Toto Wolff, declines — choosing to stay with the team that believed in him. (wikipedia)
Sonny departs and returns to the open road
Sonny leaves Formula One quietly, without fanfare. The film's closing sequence shows him competing in the Baja 1000 off-road endurance race — a return to the nomadic racing life he had before Rubén's call, but now at peace with his past. He proved he could compete at the highest level; the question of whether he would stay was never the point.
"It isn't just about winning the race or a title. It's the spiritual component." — Brad Pitt, The Hollywood Reporter (2025)