F1

Recently there has been a film that offers both sensory enjoyment and a touch to the soul: F1. This racing film, created by the same team behind Top Gun: Maverick, has already achieved a box-office miracle—$626 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of Brad Pitt’s career.

This time, Pitt isn’t (just) showing off his looks and muscles

To be honest, my reason for going into the theater at first was very straightforward. The moment I saw the poster online, I was hooked—six-pack abs, broad shoulders, perfect proportions. The most handsome man in the world paired with the fastest and most thrilling sport in the world. At that moment, I was mentally prepared to start drooling.

Do you know? Brad Pitt is already over 60 years old. But watching his performance in this film, I would believe you if you told me he was in his 30s. That sense of youthful vitality doesn’t come only from muscles built in the gym. In recent years he appeared in Wolfs, wearing a middle-aged cadre-style jacket while acting opposite George Clooney; his physique, looks, and youthful energy were all still there, while George had already chosen to directly play a white-haired elderly rogue. That shows just how incredible Pitt’s condition is.

In F1, he doesn’t continue the usual routine of showing off looks and muscles. Instead, he takes a more interesting route—while remaining sexy, he interprets the middle-aged racing driver Sonny with a refined, slightly roguish elegance. This is not a role that attracts people purely through appearance; it requires acting skill, temperament, and an understanding of the character’s inner core. Pitt delivers.

An interpretation of leadership — How do we win?

If you only look at the surface of the story, F1 is a standard inspirational sports film: a frustrated middle-aged driver returns to the racetrack and leads a team on the verge of collapse to rise again from the ashes. This kind of story framework has been told countless times. But what makes this film moving is that beneath this shell it wraps deep reflections on leadership, teamwork, ideals, turning adversity around, and philosophy of life. Spoilers Below.

At the beginning, Sonny wins the Daytona race with a team, but he doesn’t stay. After winning first place, he refuses the team leader’s invitation and instead wants to drive a beat-up car to the seaside to run the Baja race. This is not the choice of an ambitious man; it is the choice of someone who has already let something go. Until his old friend—now team owner Ruben—finds him and strongly invites him to join APXGP, a team on the verge of bankruptcy.

What is APXGP? It is the team ranked last. What does that mean? It means starting last, and cars that can never finish a full lap competitively. Anyone who has watched F1 knows that feeling of despair—after 60 laps, the leading teams can lap the trailing teams by more than one full lap. Under the giant scoreboard, everyone’s results are laid out. Every race continues burning enormous amounts of money. A rear wing alone costs hundreds of thousands of dollars; every crash is gambling with money that ordinary people cannot imagine. Half of the cars are always just running along with the pack, never earning points. I don’t know how strong those team owners’ hearts must be, or how deep their love for the sport must be, to keep going.

Facing such a desperate starting point, what does Sonny do? Sonny demonstrates the most fundamental qualities of a leader. From a leadership perspective, step by step, he does the following:

First, he proves his ability to the team. After decades away from the F1 circuit, he returns and immediately sets the fastest lap time. In the first few races, he successfully helps the team earn its first point. With half the season already gone, one can imagine how much hope and encouragement that precious single point brings.

Second, he gives the team direction. Sonny repeatedly studies technical data and carefully observes every race. Eventually he finds the team’s strength—cornering speed. In a team meeting, he encourages everyone to participate and fight for 0.1 seconds in every small detail. These tiny gains add up; after 60 or 70 laps, they can become a huge lead. What F1 often competes for is precisely those few seconds of difference. At that moment, everyone sees hope—not just a small hope, but a conviction of victory that could truly create history.

I cannot forget that scene at the end of the meeting. Everyone—whether engineers in technical roles or mechanics tightening bolts—shouts together: “combat,” “combat,” the sound growing louder and more unified and everyone has smile on his/her face. In that moment they are no longer separate departments working independently, but one whole. As a leader, Sonny leads everyone to win together.

In addition, Sonny goes through good time and hardship alongside the team. Whether being misunderstood, blamed, or running and excercising together, joking and fooling around with everyone, he stays. With his efforts, the team becomes increasingly choesive and harmonious. A team likes that is bound to win. In the end, the team works miracles- they completely rebuild a racing car within 10 mins and helped Sonny win.