Few films this year have captured both adrenaline and emotion quite like ‘F1: The Movie’. Directed by Joseph Kosinski and starring Brad Pitt and Damson Idris, the sports action drama has achieved impressive box office numbers and garnered overwhelmingly positive audience reactions.
However, beyond the high-speed thrills and spectacular visuals, fans are now wondering about the film’s post-credits scene. The scene showcased a quiet yet intriguing moment that hints we may not have seen the last of Sonny Hayes.
‘F1: The Movie’ Post-Credits Scene Hints There’s More To Come
At first glance, ‘F1: The Movie’ seems to wrap things up rather neatly. Pitt’s character, Sonny Hayes, a once-legendary Formula One driver forced into early retirement after a devastating crash, has mentored the rookie sensation Joshua Pearce and helped turn around the fortunes of the struggling APX Grand Prix team. However, then comes that final post-credits scene.
In it, Sonny is tearing through the rugged terrain of the Baja 1000 desert race in Mexico. In a recent interview with GQ, director Joseph Kosinski revealed that this scene wasn’t originally meant to close the film. It was first intended to open the movie, setting the stage before Sonny is approached by Javier Bardem’s Ruben Cervantes to join the F1 world again. However, in a twist of creative decision-making, the scene was moved to the end and it changed everything.
“It’s up for the audience to decide,” Kosinski said when asked if the post-credits moment was meant to set up a sequel. “We leave it on a really open-ended moment for Sonny, for Kate [Kerry Condon], and for Joshua. So yeah, I think there’s certainly more to tell of the APXGP team and where Sonny Hayes goes from here. But that’s not my decision.” While not a confirmation, Kosinski’s words offer hope to fans eager for another lap. The open-ended conclusion gives Sonny a graceful, almost poetic moment.
Real Inspirations Behind Brad Pitt’s Sonny Hayes
Beyond the spectacle, ‘F1: The Movie’ delivers a raw, emotionally grounded narrative because of the real stories that inspired it. Sonny Hayes isn’t just a fictional creation. His tragic past and relentless determination are based on the real-life story of Martin Donnelly, a promising British driver whose Formula One career came to a horrifying halt in 1990.
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During a practice run at the Spanish Grand Prix, Donnelly’s car disintegrated after slamming into a barrier at over 170mph. The crash was so violent that his body was thrown from the car onto the track, his limbs shattered, and his survival miraculous. Though he never raced in F1 again, Donnelly’s legacy lives on. Additionally, now, through Sonny, his resilience has reached the big screen.
In a subtle tribute, Kosinski’s film even includes digitally recreated footage based on Donnelly’s crash. Moreover, the film doesn’t stop with Donnelly. The fiery crash endured by Joshua Pearce in the movie bears a haunting resemblance to Romain Grosjean’s 2020 Bahrain accident. Grosjean’s car burst into flames and split in half, trapping him inside for over 20 seconds. Miraculously, he survived with only minor injuries.
