Brad Pitt’s highly anticipated F1: The Movie hit cinemas on 25 June and quickly seized the top spot at the box office, raking in over $140 million globally on its opening weekend.
But while it climbs in the rankings, the film has also left a significant portion of its audience scratching their heads – its final moments, in particular, have sparked widespread confusion.
F1: The Movie follows Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), a former Formula 1 driver who returns to the sport after retiring to mentor a promising young rookie, Joshua Pierce (Damson Idris), at the struggling APXGP team.
Together with team principal Joe (Javier Bardem) and chief strategist Kate (Kerry Condon), they navigate the high-stakes world of F1, battling fierce competition and internal team dynamics.
© Apple TV+So, what exactly happens in the pivotal scene that has left viewers so bewildered? Read on to find out…
What happens in the end credits scene?
While not an entirely new concept, end-credits scenes were globally popularised by Marvel, which started featuring whole scenes for dedicated fans who had stayed behind to catch a sneak peek of the next sequel.
© Apple TV+Now, in F1: The Movie, some viewers were left baffled, wondering if the clip could possibly mean a future sequel as well.
The end credits scene finishes a plotline from an earlier point in the film, when Sonny (Brad Pitt) is considering what he should do next after winning a race at Daytona.
© Apple TV+Cut to the end, and Sonny is seen racing up the dunes in a golf buggy to the sound of Ed Sheeran’s new song, Drive. The rugged setting suggests he may have gone to the sand dunes of Baja 1000, California, an off-road race course, concluding the plans he’d been pondering previously.
What do viewers think?
Some viewers believe this leaves room for an upcoming sequel – Sonny clearly disregards the risk his racing puts him at, which could leave room for a potential second film.
However, there have been no official announcements made on a potential sequel, and the conclusion seems pretty final, with Sonny quite literally driving off into the sunset.
© Apple TV+Speaking to GQ about that particular end scene, director Joseph Kosinski said that it had originally been intended to be the film’s opening, but was swapped to the end.
It seems Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes CEO Toto Wolff vetoed it due to the fact that there was “nothing translatable” between Baja’s style of racing and Formula One.
© Apple TV+However, fans will be excited to hear that, regarding a potential sequel, Joseph told GQ: “That’s up for the audience to decide. I think we leave it on a really open-ended moment for Sonny, for Kate [played by 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.”
Where to watch F1: The Movie
F1: The Movie is available to watch in cinemas now.