Comparing 2 racing movies

I was excited about the F1 movie. I bought Apple TV subscription specifically for this movie. Thought it would be fun. It was, but the movie didn’t stay with me.

The F1 movie fell flat. It had real footage of drivers and races. You get to see Sonny Hayes greet Fernando Alonso, walk along with Lewis Hamilton and have meetings in McLaren’s actual headquarters in Woking. All of this seems exciting on surface but I believe this was the movie’s Achilles’ heel. A good storyteller makes everything believable. The numerous crashes, unconventional racing strategies, and the struggles never felt believable because the story kept jumping in and out of the real world of F1. For a second, it was hilarious to see Fred Vasseur and Zak Brown take potshots at the fictitious team principal, but after that very second, it felt like it was a blooper reel for Formula 1 and now we were back in the actual movie.

Compare this to Ford v Ferrari. It was so good (even if I discount my admiration for Christian Bale). It shows the story of Ken Miles amazingly well. I loved how Ford has to fight back the legendary Enzo Ferrari. My favourite moment was when Ken is driving alone in Le Mans, far ahead of everyone, and he becomes one with the machine and I felt it. I believed it. The music, the scenery, the cars - all come together to create that one scene. The F1 movie, despite having been shot on Imax cameras, having Hans Zimmer’s score to power it through, and Brad Pitt’s acting talent, failed to produce an equivalent scene despite trying. Ford v Ferrari’s ending stayed with me too. Ken Miles loses despite winning, but Enzo Ferrari tips his hat. Ironically, the scene in which Phil (Ray McKinnon’s character) says, “They robbed you, Ken” was used by many F1 fans when Lewis was sort of robbed of his 8th title in Abu Dhabi 2021. As Matthew Dicks (of Storyworthy fame) would say, the ending is a coat that you can’t take off.

Matthew Dicks also hates props in a story. He explains how a storyteller was talking about a plane ticket he brought to be somewhere important. And towards the end of the story, he took out the ticket from his pocket. This was a prop. Immediately to Dicks, it felt like he was out of the story mode and it kind of ruined his story experience. Even the creators of South Park hate Family Guy for this reason. Family Guy is full of gags that have no connection to the story - “this is like that time when…” followed by an unrelated gag. The real F1 footage in this movie works the same way. It pulls you out.

Racing movies can be amazing. There is a clear goal (winning the race!). The hero can be broken in so many ways. The visuals can be striking. The stakes can be high. And F1 is where the stakes are arguably the highest (Combined team valuation of $23Bn) - and that’s why Drive to Survive was so successful. Perhaps the success of Drive to Survive and the influence of Liberty Media has driven a sustained push for more eyeballs. And I guess this drive to commercialise has cost art.