Warning: Spoilers ahead for F1: The MovieJoseph Kosinski’s F1: The Movie brings the pulse-pounding action of Formula One racing to the big screen, including some incredibly dark moments that were unfortunately born out of the dangerous history of the sport. The visually stunning sports drama depicts a fictional story, but it folds in some very real elements of F1 racing.
Whether it’s using a bevy of real-life Formula One drivers in key scenes or shooting in real locales in the middle of the actual F1 season, F1: The Movie does a great job of realistically representing the sport as it exists. That includes the highs of victory, the lows of defeat, and the constant presence of danger for the competitors in the driver’s seat.
Brad Pitt’s character Sonny Hayes is a washed-up racer who began his once-promising career in Formula One, until his career was curtailed by a devastating accident that nearly killed him. Meanwhile, the APX team’s talented rookie Joshua Pearce spins into a terrifying and fiery crash during the course of the movie.
Both accidents were inspired by real crashes that have occurred in the history of the high-stakes sport. As scary as they are, they serve an incredibly important function in bringing the reality of Formula One racing to life.
Sonny’s Original Accident Was Directly Inspired By A Famous 1990 Accident
It Put An End To Driver Martin Donnelly’s Formula One Career
Brad Pitt’s character Sonny Hayes is directly inspired by a real former Formula One racer: British driver Martin Donnelly. The talented competitor began his racing career in 1983, and over the course of the next few years worked his way up to Formula One. Per History.com, Donnelly entered the 1990 F1 season as the full-time driver for the Lotus racing team.
On September 28th, 1990, Donnelly was going through a seemingly normal practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez, Spain. Suddenly, the suspension failed on Donnelly’s car, causing him to crash into the barrier at an unthinkable 176 miles per hour.
F1: The Movie actually uses some digitally edited footage of Donnelly’s accident when depicting Sonny’s crash in flashbacks.
As the car exploded and broke in half, Donnelly was thrown onto the track, sustaining ghastly injuries to his internal organs and multiple fractures to his legs in addition to being unable to breathe due to swallowing his tongue. Donnelly was placed in a medically-induced coma, and was believed to be so close to death that he was read his last rites.
Donnelly managed to survive and recover, but his F1 career was over. The famous accident was immortalized in F1: The Movie, and the real Martin Donnelly actually met with Brad Pitt during the movie’s production, according to Motorsport.com.
Joshua’s Fiery Crash Was Likely Inspired By Two Famous Accidents
It Carries Echoes Of Two Crashes That Occurred 44 Years Apart
Joshua’s crash in F1: The Movie wasn’t quite so pointedly reflective of a single driver’s accident, but it clearly took some inspiration from a pair of famous crashes. The first is driver Romain Grosjean’s infamous 2020 crash in Bahrain, which saw him hit the barrier at 120 mph, which split the car in half.
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Per Esquire, the explosion sprayed the car’s fuel and sparked a fire, making the front half of the car (where Grosjean was trapped) into a temporary inferno. Despite being trapped for nearly 30 seconds before emergency services arrived, Grosjean survived with only burns to his hands and feet, just as Joshua’s hands are burned before the ending of F1: The Movie.
It seems likely that Joshua’s accident was also inspired by Austrian driver Niki Lauda’s infamous 1976 crash. Lauda, who was portrayed by Daniel Brühl in the 2013 movie Rush, suffered intense burns to his head and hands, along with damage to his lungs and blood from inhaling toxic gases after his car burst into flames after skidding out.
The Crashes In F1: The Movie Are Important To Understanding The Sport
It’s Exhilarating, But With The Excitement Comes Incredible Danger
Sonny’s crash is formative to his character in F1: The Movie, but Joshua’s crash is equally important in depicting the real dangers associated with Formula One racing, and motorsports in general. While there are plenty of talented individuals who work tirelessly to keep drivers and other personnel safe, accidents are simply part of the sport.
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F1: The Movie – Key Details |
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Release Date |
Director |
Budget |
RT Tomatometer Score |
RT Popcornmeter Score |
Metacritic Metascore |
Metacritic User Score |
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6/27/2025 |
Joseph Kosinski |
$200 million |
83% |
97% |
68/100 |
7.4/10 |
F1: The Movie is a blast of a summer blockbuster, and it does a great job showing the adrenaline-pumping world of F1 racing to an audience who may not be familiar with the sport. However, the accidents in the movie serve as an important reminder of just how high the stakes are in each race.
Source: History.com, Motorsport.com, Esquire
F1
8/10
- Release Date
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June 27, 2025
- Director
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Joseph Kosinski
- Writers
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Ehren Kruger
- Producers
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Brad Pitt, Chad Oman, Jerry Bruckheimer, Jeremy Kleiner, Lewis Hamilton, Joseph Kosinski, Dede Gardner
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Damson Idris
Joshua ‘Noah’ Pearce
