Warning: Major spoilers for F1: The MovieF1: The Movie director Joseph Kosinski revealed that an alternate ending to the movie’s final race was staged at one point, which featured an entirely different winner. The record-breaking action sports drama features Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Javier Bardem, and Kerry Condon as the key members of a last-place Formula One racing team.

Brad Pitt portrays Sonny Hayes, a former Formula One driver inspired by a real British racer, who revolutionizes the team’s racing strategy and helps them climb out of the basement in the F1 standings. Damson Idris plays Joshua Pearce, a talented but arrogant rookie driver who chafes against Hayes’ tutelage.

In the movie’s final race, the veteran Sonny clears a path for his teammate to move into first place and win the race outright, but an accident allows for Sonny to race ahead to victory. In an interview with GQ, director Joseph Kosinski revealed that they actually staged an alternate ending in which Joshua wins the race.

“We actually did shoot an ending with Damson winning as well… Where he went up there, and held [the trophy] up,” says director Joseph Kosinski, before questioning himself. “Did we shoot it with the cameras? I feel like we just staged it to try to throw people off.” Fans could’ve probably guessed that Sonny would win that final race, anyway — it’s pretty much the rule of any satisfying, popcorn-friendly sports movie that the hero is going to overcome the odds and emerge victorious … But who cares? Movies are more about the journey than the destination. “That’s where the entertainment is. I mean, anyone can guess the end of a movie,” Kosinski says.

Even if it was never actually sH๏τ, it’s important to note that Kosinski and his team went as far as staging the ending, meaning there was at least some consideration of the outcome as opposed to simply trying to fool onlookers. However, based on Kosinski’s comments, it seems Sonny Hayes’ victory was firmly set in the end.

How F1: The Movie’s Alternate Ending Changes The Movie’s Payoff

It Changes How Sonny Hayes’ Character Arc Concludes

Sonny Hayes’ story in F1: The Movie is one of redemption. His once-promising career was cut short by a devastating crash, which is based on a real-life accident, and for the last thirty years he’s chased the thrill that comes with high-speed racing, although out of the spotlight he once claimed.

Sonny’s victory in the final race, while predictable as the expected outcome of any sports drama, acts as a cathartic conquering of a mountain for Sonny. Through luck and circumstance, he found his way back into Formula One, which is regarded as the highest-caliber racing there is. His victory provides a much-needed ending to his character’s arc.

The alternate ending likely would have seen him sacrifice himself (metaphorically) in the final race so that his younger teammate, whose career is just beginning, could achieve victory and get on the path that Sonny never got to complete. It would have been an admirable turn for his character, and made perfect narrative sense in that Sonny’s time had pᴀssed, and the moment belonged to Joshua.

However, the late twist of fate in the race that allows Sonny to win provides a measure of finality that his character seems to have been chasing since he was a young man. While Sonny has won plenty of other races in his career as a driver, achieving victory in a Formula One Grand Prix was the exclamation point that redeemed his long-ago career-ending injury.

Our Take On Kosinski’s Comments On F1: The Movie’s Alternate Ending

Kosinski Picked The Right Ending, Even If Both Would Work

Frankly either ending would have been perfectly acceptable, as Sonny’s main purpose in the movie was to help the APX F1 racing team achieve victory. If he made a play that allowed Joshua to place first, that would be seen as a victory, and provide a great character moment for him as a veteran literally and metaphorically clearing a path for his teammate.

However, Kosinski definitely picked the right moment, and his comments perfectly encapsulate why. The thrill of a truly high-quality movie’s conclusion isn’t born out of surprise and shock, but rather the satisfying conclusion of a character’s story. To have a narrative close out in a gratifying way, whether you can see it coming or not, is the key to a good ending.

Of course, Sonny winning is akin to Rocky Balboa upsetting Apollo Creed in Rocky II, or the US Men’s hockey team beating the mighty Russians in Miracle. Knowing that the underdog will beat the odds doesn’t dampen the effect if it’s executed properly, and Kosinski managed that beautifully in F1: The Movie.

Source: GQ