Hear Me Out: ‘F1’ is one of the worst ‘Best Picture’ nominees ever
On January 22nd, 2026, the nominees were announced for the upcoming Academy Awards. As always, the ‘Best Picture’ category was full of bangers.
Yorgos Lanthimos’ batshit-crazy Bugonia; Chloe Zhao’s emotional Hamnet; Josh Safdie’s wild and ambitious Marty Supreme. Then there’s this movie; a badly written, wildly inaccurate vanity project backed by one of the biggest sporting bodies in the world. This was Joseph Kosinski’s F1.
Set in the high-octane, low-shame world of motor racing, F1 stars Brad Pitt as a former driver coaxed back by a struggling team. It’s an underdog story through and through. Pitt’s character, Sonny Hayes, has to overcome obstacles both on and off the track, including his thorny relationship with teammate Joshua Pierce (Damson Idris). You’d think a story like this would be easy to pull off, but F1 makes such a hash of it, I’m amazed it was ever allowed to leave the pit lane.
It is very telling that the film picked up zero nominations in any of the acting categories. There are no standout performances. Not once do you sit up in your seat and go, “Wow, Brad Pitt is great!” or, “Gee, that Lewis Hamilton has a bright future!” It certainly doesn’t help that Kerry Condon, the film’s only major female star, is reduced to little more than a love interest. The screenplay is deservedly un-nominated, too. The script is full of sports clichés and lazy plot contrivances. This is a film that would have felt cheesy in 1975, let alone half a century later.
Then there’s a real kick in the teeth. The title of this movie isn’t just F1, it’s the official Formula One logo. The sport’s dirty, corporate fingerprints are all over this thing. You feel sick just watching it, like the CEO of Tag Heuer is sitting behind you, whispering about the latest stupidly expensive watch directly into your ear. Despite clearly having the full backing of the sport, however, F1 makes it look completely bush league.
Not only is Hayes – played by a 61-year-old Pitt – allowed to waltz back into the sport with zero medical checks, but he also routinely places other drivers at risk with his erratic driving. Pearce suffers a horrendous crash, and nobody suffers any consequences.
Also, and this is going to upset some people, but underdog stories don’t happen in F1. The sport has been dominated by the same drivers and teams for decades. The whole thing plays out like the fantasy of a seven-year-old playing with his racecar toys, and yet it’s being held up as one of the best films of the year.
F1 is a fascinating case study in how Oscar voting works. On one hand, it appeals to the older members of the Academy, the ones who remember the heady days of Rocky and Chariots of Fire. On the other hand, it exemplifies a new age in the history of the awards. As we’ve seen with Sinners, Wicked, and Barbie, the Academy is more likely to embrace popular films alongside the traditional ‘Oscar bait’ crowd.
To truly understand how bad F1 is, you need to look at Kosinski’s previous ‘Best Picture’ nominee. Top Gun: Maverick also stars an ageing heartthrob and focuses on technical excellence, but it also has heart. Tom Cruise’s character changes and evolves as the story progresses, while Pitt’s is barely a character to begin with. You can do a balls-to-the-wall blockbuster that still functions as a competent film. F1 is not that film.
