F1: The Movie director Joseph Kosinski explains why Brad Pitt’s Sonny Hayes keeps a playing card in his pocket. From Kosinski and Ehren Kruger, the director and co-writer of Top Gun: Maverick, the new movie stars Brad Pitt as Sonny Hayes, a nomadic racer-for-hire and former Formula One driver who returns to the motorsport after a 30-year absence to mentor a rookie driver on the fictional APXGP team.
In the movie, one of Sonny’s many supersтιтions is that he places a single playing card in the pocket of his jumpsuit before each race, a ritual which the film leaves largely unexplained.
During an interview with GQ, Kosinski explained why Sonny keeps a playing card in his pocket. The director says that Sonny’s card ritual reflects how drivers, facing life-threatening risks on the racetrack, cling to supersтιтions for a sense of control. He added that Pitt shared this mindset and had his own personal race-day rituals while filming:
I think it comes from doing something where you are putting your life at risk every day. Brad also has supersтιтions. He would only get into the car from the left side, and he had to put one shoe on first, and then the other.
Kosinski says the playing card also symbolizes Sonny’s connection to his father, who was also a gambler, making the ritual both a personal talisman and a tribute to his past:
His father was a gambler, and we liked that notion being part of his ritual as well.
What Joseph Kosinski’s Comments Mean For Sonny’s Card Ritual In F1: The Movie
It’s Part Supersтιтion & Symbol
F1: The Movie explores Sonny Hayes’ backstory, revealing that he used to race for the Formula One team Lotus in the 1990s, though a serious crash at the 1993 Spanish Grand Prix ended his Formula One career for the next 30 years. In the years after his crash, Sonny struggled with a gambling addiction and also went through three failed marriages.
As Sonny’s past proves, Formula One drivers face life-or-death risks every time they take to the track. This, Kosinski suggests, is why many drivers adopt supersтιтions, such as Sonny’s habit of slipping a single playing card into his pocket before each race. When one is constantly facing the possibility of death, such rituals naturally emerge and can help a driver feel a sense of control.
However, Sonny’s playing card ritual is not purely a supersтιтion, as it also represents his past as a gambling addict, as well as symbolizing his connection with his father, who was also a gambler and taught him how to race.
Our Take On Sonny’s Card Ritual In F1: The Movie
What’s The Card At The End?
Though Sonny slips a single playing card into his pocket before each race, he never actually looks at the face until F1‘s ending, after he wins the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. However, the card is not revealed to the audience, leaving viewers to speculate about what it could be, or if it even matters.
The only theory I have is that the card could be the seven of spades, since it’s a prominent badge on his jumpsuit. Otherwise, the card really doesn’t matter; what matters is that, by looking at his lucky playing card, Sonny breaks free from his supersтιтion and realizes that he, not fate, is in control of his life.
F1: The Movie is playing in theaters.
Source: GQ
