We need to talk about the women in ‘F1: The Movie’ 

When Lewis Hamilton signed on to co-produce F1: The Movie, there was a collective sigh of relief. The seven-time world champion would help ensure authenticity – not only surrounding the technical aspects of racing and the intricacies of the driver experience, but hopefully around inclusion, too.

For years, Hamilton has been vocal about pushing motorsport towards a more diverse and equitable future. So, when the fictional APX GP team was revealed to include a female technical director and a multicultural cast, the film seemed poised to get things right. Unfortunately, this is one arena where it missed the mark.

The plot centres on Brad Pitt’s Sonny Hayes, a washed-up former F1 driver who returns to the sport after three decades for one final shot at glory. He’s recruited by an old friend who owns the flailing APX GP team, played by Javier Bardem, and partners Damson Idris’ rookie driver, Joshua Pearce.

Leading the team is technical director Kate, played by Oscar-nominated Kerry Condon. She’s the first woman in F1 history to hold such a senior technical role. She’s brilliant, spunky, and apparently, bad at her job: the car she designed is described as a “s**tbox,” and the team hasn’t scored a single point in nearly three seasons.

Enter Pitt’s Hayes, a “gambling junkie who lives in his van.” She has googly eyes from the get-go, and during an early exchange, he tells her that she should re-design the car for “combat” (the technical details are another conversation altogether).

Kate – who moments ago was supposed to be the smartest person in the room – abandons her entire concept. And huzzah! The car is suddenly fighting at the front of the field, thanks to a man who’s been out of the sport for 30 years.

It gets worse. She’s also the love interest. Despite warning Hayes that she never gets involved with drivers, she swiftly finds herself in his hotel room the night before a race. Spoiler alert: they don’t even end up together (his decision, not hers), which begs the question: why write a woman into a groundbreaking position of power only to make her inept?

One of the few other female characters is a pit crew member we dubbed ‘wheel gun girl’ (if she had a name, it certainly passed us by). She’s shown bumbling around the garage, dropping tools, and botching a pit stop in the film’s opening act. Sure, she improves throughout the two-and-a-half-hour runtime, but it’s a low bar.

This isn’t unfamiliar territory for director Joe Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Their 2022 summer blockbuster, Top Gun: Maverick, featured Monica Barbaro as one of the elite Navy pilots. Her character’s struggles weren’t defined by her gender, and that’s exactly what makes this new film’s depiction of women so grating. In F1, their failures are rooted in being women in what’s long been considered a man’s world.

It goes without saying that the film doesn’t pass the Bechdel Test either. Joshua Pearce’s mother appears in a handful of scenes, almost exclusively to swoon over Pitt’s character. Meanwhile, Pearce’s manager suggests his career is safe because “the ladies love [his] smile.” God forbid a woman just enjoys watching sport!

I will admit, however, the funniest line of the movie is delivered by a woman who meets Pearce in a nightclub, and upon learning he’s an F1 driver, asks: “Can you introduce me to Carlos Sainz?” From what Motorsport.com understands, the nightclub scene was originally meant to feature ‘Bridgerton’ actress Simone Ashley, who played the rookie driver’s love interest.

Ashley spent a year filming the movie and was promoting it as recently as last month – only to be completely cut from the final edit. Kosinski insisted there were multiple storylines left on the cutting room floor, which is standard for most films, but her absence is conspicuous given how prominently she featured in pre-release buzz.

During a press conference last week, the filmmakers reminded us – the F1 media – that we’re not the target demographic. It’s clear that the movie will be best enjoyed by those with little to no Formula 1 knowledge, but even that group includes women.

When Bruckheimer joked that plenty of men will be “dragging their girlfriends to the cinema,” it felt like the quiet part said out loud. There’s a lot to like about this movie. But strong, layered, competent female characters? Don’t hold your breath.