The most anticipated movie in the motorsport world, “F1 The Movie”, was just released on the 27th of June 2025. The movie starring Brad Pitt and Damson Idris follows the story of a former Formula 1 driver (Pitt) making a debut in the racing series to redeem his name while helping the team go from backmarker to midfield.
As a fan of the sport, I would say that the movie showcases the essence of the sport perfectly with a bit of Hollywood magic through camera shots and angles. Overall, it is a great effort and a good movie that I would highly recommend even if you are not a big motorsport or Formula 1 fan.
But one of the biggest letdowns in the movie, would be the way female characters were portrayed. There were 2 major female characters in them, one being the first female engineer and another being the only female mechanic. Progressive ? Not really.
Both the female characters were largely portrayed as incompetent and, at worst, reduced to mere eye candy. It is understandable that every movie needs a love interest, but making the only female engineer to have a physical relationship with the driver undermines all the efforts made in the motorsport world to create equal opportunity for women.
Women in motorsport have come a long way, breaking barriers, stereotypes, and challenging the long-held male-dominated industry. From race engineers to team principals and drivers, their presence in the industry has showcased that talent, expertise, and determination are not defined by gender.
Although, to some it is just a scene from a movie, but to many women in motorsport who are constantly trying to outdo themselves in a male-dominated world, it is much deeper. Representation matters both on and off track, as media narrative essentially shapes the public’s perception.
Rakshni (rakshnirathakrishnan@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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