With Brad Pitt in the driving seat, Kerry Condon and Javier Bardem in the pit, Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski at the controls, and Jerry Bruckheimer and the great Lewis Hamilton rounding out the crew, everything looks precisely calibrated for F1 to be one of the best movies of the summer. Petrol-heads looking for a warm up, or even to go another lap, can use our guide below to find the 10 best racing movies and where to watch them online.
Rush (2013)
Daniel Brühl was unlucky to miss out on an Academy Award nomination for his career best performance as Niki Lauda, the Ferrari legend, in this gripping period movie from director Ron Howard. Rush is set largely during the fateful 1976 Formula 1 season, focusing on the rivalry and begrudging respect between Lauda, a spiky but principled Austrian, and James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth), a handsome but cocky Englishman.
Ford v Ferrari (2019)
Ferrari once again play the antagonists in James Mangold’s surprisingly moving account of the Ford racing team’s attempt to end a period of Italian dominance at the 24 hours of Le Mans. Set in 1966, Ford v Ferrari follows the prickly but endearing friendship between Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon), a retired champ turned designer, and the maverick race car driver, Ken Miles (Christian Bale).
Senna (2010)
Looking back on it now, it’s hard to imagine the likes of Rush, F1, or Drive to Survive even existing without this essential essayistic documentary from Asif Kapadia. Forgoing the use of interviews and talking heads, Senna details the life, brilliance, and tragic death of the Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna, a three-time winner of the F1 championship, and elevates the sport into something approaching art.
Speed Racer (2008)
Any movie bold enough to do its own thing and loud enough to stick around for a while will always get reassessed sooner or later. Enter the Wachowski sisters’ Speed Racer, a dazzling, digital sugar-rush (or headache, depending on the viewer) that baffled audiences and critics on release but has recently acquired low-key cult status. Based on a Japanese anime from the 1960s, the film stars Emile Hirsch as a plucky young driver looking to follow in his brothers footsteps by racing against the crooked Royalton industries team.
Gran Turismo (2023)
F1 director Joseph Kosinski was originally on board to direct this loose adaptation of Jann Mardenborough’s real life journey from online GT gamer to professional racecar driver. The job eventually fell to Neill Blomkamp, director of District 9, who does a fine job on the race scenes and, thanks to a fine performance from David Harbour, a decent job with everything else. It’s far from perfect, but Gran Turismo is a solid, no-nonsense sports movie.
Ferrari (2023)
It felt inevitable that Michael Mann (lover of all things slick, complex, and potentially dangerous) would eventually make a racing film. Enter Ferrari. This soulful biopic stars Adam Driver as the legendary designer and car manufacturer Enzo Ferrari as he deals with mourning and possible bankruptcy in the leadup to a fateful Mille Miglia in 1957.
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)
Adam McKay and Will Ferrell’s second collaboration is still one of the funniest things they’ve ever done. Talladega Nights stars Ferrell as Ricky Bobby, a championship NASCAR driver who suffers a crash and must overcome his demons to get back on the track. Some of the jokes haven’t aged as well as others, but just two years before reteaming on Step Brothers, the Ferrell and John C. Reilly double-act is in its prime.
Logan Lucky (2017)
The nominatively determined Adam Driver features for a second time on this list as one half of the Logan brothers in Steven Soderberg’s NASCAR heist movie. In terms of style, Logan Lucky was never going to compare to anything in the director’s snare-tight Oceans series, but with Channing Tatum, Daniel Criag, and Riley Keough rounding out a charismatic team, it has a good time trying.
The Final Destination (2009)
Most people seem to believe that David R. Ellis’ The Final Destination is the weakest installment in the series. They are wrong. Look no further than the incredible NASCAR-set opening sequence, which seems like such an obvious and fruitful place for gnarly decapitations that it’s only surprising it took the franchise four films to dream it up.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Perhaps it’s cheating, but anyone with a need for more speed after seeing Joseph Kosinski’s latest film could do far worse than revisiting its predecessor, Top Gun: Maverick. Reprising one of his most famous roles, Tom Cruise stars as a Navy pilot who must take to the skies for one last mission (at least for now). See it big and loud.
Where To Watch The Best Racing Movies Like 'F1' Online
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