Five minutes into F1- The Movie, I had a conversation with Inner Racing Nerd.

“Stop rolling your eyes. You knew this wasn’t going to have any connection to reality. Just relax and enjoy it for what it is.”

And that is what he did, for the most part. F1 is a light summer entertainment, nothing more. If you were looking for a film to show what racing is all about, pick some other movie.

The story centers on Sonny Hayes, who 30 years ago was an upcoming F1 driver. His career ends after a horrific crash in Spain. Since then, he is an itinerant driver, have helmet, will race. Sonny has no interest in a full time gig or sticking to any particular series.

He is a character we have seen before-the washed-up athlete with a jaded attitude, called in to help a younger version of himself, or help an old friend. He is Crash Davis from Bull Durham, and he is Norman Dale from Hoosiers.

Just after helping a GT team win the Rolex 24, Sonny sets off for Mexico to drive in the Baja rally. He encounters a friend from his F1 days, who now is the proud owner of the worst team on the grid. He begs Sonny to come back and help him.

After showing initial reluctance, Sonny joins the team, bringing an unorthodox style to the races in order to help his young teammate. Again, I had to quiet Inner Racing Nerd, who said, “He’s going to set a record for the fastest driver to 12 penalty points!” I could not argue, but again, let’s just go with what happens.

The racing scenes are fun and exciting but have no connection to reality. We see the obligatory airborne car, and the even more obligatory car bursting into flames.

In the end, Sonny brings the team to respectability and sets up his teammate for a successful F1 career. Sonny then returns to North America and heads for the Mexican desert to try to get a ride for the next cross-country rally.

Brad Pitt is adequate as Sonny Hayes, and Damson Idris does a decent job as Joshua Pearce, his teammate. The best performance is by Kerry Condon as the team’s chief engineer.

The photography creates thrilling, up close racing scenes, which makes the film worth seeing.

I would recommend F1 as a light summer entertainment, and a good chance to see race cars on screen. If you are looking for a more serious movie about racing, watch Rush.