As somebody who loves Components 1, I actually loved the brand new F1 film (even when it takes a couple of artistic liberties). But it surely’s removed from the one motorsport story price watching; there’s an entire grid of nice movies and reveals on the market.
5
Rush
Rush needs to be the primary movie you watch subsequent for those who simply obtained into Components 1. It’s a terrific start line, particularly for those who’re nonetheless determining what makes the game so thrilling past simply quick vehicles. The movie relies on the real-life rivalry between James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl) throughout the 1976 season. Even for those who don’t know something about F1 historical past, it is easy to observe and genuinely entertaining.
What makes Rush so nice is how effectively it reveals the distinction between Hunt and Lauda. Hunt is impulsive, wild, and all about intuition. Lauda is calculated, technical, and obsessive about getting the small print proper. Seeing how their opposing types push one another all through the season is what makes the story work.
One facet I didn’t love is how the film leans into the basic Hollywood trope of turning a rivalry into a private grudge. It performs up the drama greater than it must, which takes away a bit from the connection that they had in actual life.
Additionally, for those who beloved the soundtrack of the brand new F1 film, you are going to take pleasure in it right here too. Hans Zimmer composed each, and his music in Rush provides a ton of vitality to the race scenes.
4
Ford v Ferrari
Ford v Ferrari is a stable subsequent choose. It’s primarily based on the true story of how Ford got down to beat Ferrari on the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966, after a failed deal between the 2 corporations changed into a full-blown rivalry on the observe.
As an alternative of specializing in simply the drivers, the movie splits its time between Ken Miles (Christian Bale), a no-nonsense racer, and Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon), the person tasked with main Ford’s racing effort. What makes it attention-grabbing is how a lot of the story takes place off the observe, comparable to convincing Ford executives to allow them to do their jobs, or coping with all of the technical limitations of constructing a automotive from scratch.
A giant a part of what makes the film work is the connection between Miles and Shelby. The 2 of them don’t at all times agree, however there’s a mutual respect that comes by way of with out being overly sentimental. It’s the sort of dynamic that makes the non-racing scenes simply as watchable as the large race itself.
Even for those who’re not that into endurance racing or the entire Ford and Ferrari historical past, it’s nonetheless a terrific underdog story with sturdy performances and a tempo that avoids lulls. It is positively price a watch if you’d like one thing in the identical ballpark because the F1 film, however with a distinct sort of rivalry.
3
Gran Turismo
Gran Turismo takes a barely totally different method in comparison with most racing motion pictures. It’s not about seasoned drivers or legendary rivalries, however a couple of gamer-turned-racer making an attempt to show he belongs in the true motorsport world. The story is loosely primarily based on the true occasions of Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe), a young person who turns into an expert race driver by way of a contest run by Nissan and PlayStation.
You get to see how a lot technical information from video games like GT interprets to actual vehicles, and the place it falls brief. The film doesn’t shrink back from exhibiting how unprepared Jann is in some conditions, and the stakes really feel surprisingly actual as he goes from racing just about to dealing with harmful tracks at full velocity.
The racing scenes are first rate, and you’ll inform the filmmakers wished to pay homage to the Gran Turismo video games. There are even moments the place the digicam mimics the in-game racing view, which could really feel gimmicky to some however works fairly effectively for those who’ve frolicked enjoying the video games. It doesn’t attain the identical stage of polish as one thing like Rush or Ford v Ferrari, but it surely’s nonetheless a enjoyable watch.
2
Drive to Survive
Drive to Survive is among the most accessible methods to get into Components 1, particularly for those who favor one thing that’s structured extra like a drama than a sports activities documentary. The Netflix docuseries follows the F1 calendar season by season, providing you with a behind-the-scenes have a look at the groups, drivers, and all of the politics that go into the game each on and off the observe yearly.
Every episode often zooms in on a particular rivalry, workforce, or incident, which makes it straightforward to observe even for those who don’t know each driver on the grid. You get to see workforce principals argue over contracts, drivers coping with profession strain, and the true penalties of race-day choices. It’s entertaining, and for lots of people, it’s what made them followers of the game within the first place.
I’d advocate retaining a second display useful whereas watching the present. Since every season follows the newest Components 1 championship, it helps to shortly lookup stats or study extra in regards to the drivers—lots of whom are nonetheless energetic on the grid since season 1.
That mentioned, it’s vital to deal with Drive to Survive as extra of an informal introduction than a completely correct reflection of F1. The present is thought for leaning closely into manufactured drama. It’s all edited with a transparent aim: to create an exhilarating watch, even when meaning bending actuality a bit.
So long as you don’t take every little thing at face worth, this can be a nice option to get your bearings. You possibly can then transfer on to watching precise races if you’d like the total image.
1
Senna
The 2024 Senna collection takes a dramatized method to telling the story of one in all Components 1’s biggest legends. It follows Ayrton Senna’s (Gabriel Leone) journey from his early racing days in Brazil, all the best way to his time on the high of the game, with a powerful deal with the private facet of his life.
The collection does job of exhibiting how pushed and complicated Senna was, particularly relating to his intense rivalry with Alain Prost and his fixed clashes with F1’s political panorama. It leans extra into character improvement than pure racing motion, which works effectively for a narrative like this.
The most important draw back is the CGI. A few of the race sequences don’t look nice, and the consequences right here would possibly pull you out of the second. However regardless of that, it’s nonetheless a stable watch.
When you’re performed with these, don’t suppose you’ve run out of choices. There are many different motion pictures and reveals about motorsports, and there are a number of web sites that may enable you to discover your subsequent choose. You can too use a film evaluate aggregator to refine your searches much more.
