F1’s Reviews & Rotten Tomatoes Score Are Not as Great as Top Gun: Maverick

Following early reactions, F1: The Movie has received mostly positive reviews, debuting with a Certified Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes. While comparisons to Top Gun: Maverick are inevitable given the shared director and producer, F1 is carving out its own place as a high-speed sports drama.

Critics praise F1: The Movie in their reviews

F1: The Movie holds an 86% score on Rotten Tomatoes from 147 critic reviews as of June 26, 2025, with multiple top critics awarding it a “Fresh” rating.

Moira MacDonald (Seattle Times) states, “This movie is entirely about the driving, and the speed.” Ann Hornaday (Washington Post) calls it “fuel-injected by an exceptionally appealing cast,” and Rafer Guzman (Newsday) calls it “a seductive fantasy built around cool cars and an even cooler Brad Pitt.”

Michael Phillips (Chicago Tribune) notes, “Nothing in F1 beats those pit stops — purely cinematic blurs of speed, noise and collaborative purpose.” Randy Myers (San Jose Mercury News) adds, “No doubt this is one mighty familiar story, but who gives a damn when it’s told with such energy and skill.” Meanwhile, Esther Zuckerman (Bloomberg) concludes, “It’s not as if F1 bucks sports movie conventions; it just executes them, for the most part, extremely well.”

However, some critics issued negative reviews. Eric Marchen (Rogers TV) states, “F1 eats Top Gun: Maverick’s dust,” while Peter Sobczynski (Auteurist Class) writes, “It isn’t that much better [than Days of Thunder].” Frank Swietek (One Guy’s Opinion) describes it as “a compendium of clichés and commercialism.”

Despite mixed reviews, the film received wide praise for its technical execution and energy. Dhaval Roy (The Times of India) highlights the use of actual race circuits, noting it “throws viewers straight into the cockpit.” Danny Leigh (Financial Times) says director Joseph Kosinski “found some rhymes between blockbuster movie making and Formula 1.”

How F1’s Rotten Tomatoes score stands against Top Gun: Maverick

As of June 26, 2025, F1: The Movie holds an 86% critic score based on 147 reviews. In comparison, Top Gun: Maverick has a 96% critic score from 476 reviews and a 99% verified audience score.

Top Gun: Maverick earned its “Certified Fresh” distinction and has kept that status since its 2022 release. Joseph Kosinski directed both films, and Jerry Bruckheimer produced them. While Top Gun: Maverick expanded an existing legacy, F1 introduces an original sports drama set in the world of Formula 1.

F1: The Movie opens in U.S. theaters on June 27, 2025, rated PG-13, with a 2h 35m runtime.

Source: Comingsoon.net