Abhiroop Das
Once a racing legend, Sonny Hayes lives a nomadic life in ‘F1: The Movie,’ minting enough money with races that, while prestigious in their own right, are on a lower league than Formula One. This equation changes when his former friend, Ruben Cervantes, coaxes him back into the field as a driver for APXGP, a team on the brink of being shut down. Sonny’s partner in this endeavour is Joshua Pearce, a talented young driver who is held back by his own shortcomings. While the two initially butt heads, they soon form an understanding and begin to function as a team. However, that is just the first step, as the ruthlessly competitive world of racing brings its own set of challenges, ranging from skillfull competitors to difficult circuits. The unifying factor in all these ordeals is the threat of death, and the closer Sonny gets to victory, the more dangerous his path gets. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Sonny Has a Close Call With Death, Many Times
While Sonny is generally a measured driver, that does not detract from his aggressive style, which involves bending the rules to his advantage and targeting other players to maximize his own chances. However, this method invites risk, and Sonny seemingly always walks a thin rope between success and failure, the latter of which can be fatal. The scales nearly tip against him during the Las Vegas Grand Prix, when his efforts to overtake Sergio Pérez result in an accident. Losing control of the wheel, the protagonist hits the corners of the racecourse, and the car is entirely destroyed in the process. Although for a moment it seems that Sonny’s demise is all but certain, that notion is dispelled in the following scene, wherein he lies on a hospital bed, injured but recovering. While it is a harrowing incident, it is not Sonny’s first time in a near-fatal situation.
Sonny’s series of close encounters with death finds its origin in his past as a professional Formula One racer. During the 1993 Spanish Grand Prix, Sonny had a terrible car crash, which nearly took his life. Later in the movie, Ruben lists out the injuries he suffered due to that accident, including a neck fracture and spinal contusion. He further reveals that any further blunt force trauma to Sonny can potentially lead to a loss of vision, paralysis, or, in the worst case, death. This establishes how dangerously close the protagonist has been to dying this entire time, using clever tactics to deliberately attract attention to himself during a race. This culminates in the collapse of his car in the present, and while the injuries themselves are not life-threatening, they point to a bigger problem that he has to deal with.
Sonny is Unlikely to Stop Risking His Life
Notably, Sonny shows a deep understanding of the risks involved in the racing world and makes sure that his protege, Joshua, does not make the same mistakes he made. When Joshua gets into a car accident, Sonny is the first to step right into the flames to save his partner’s life. However, he fails to apply that sense of restriction in his own case, often colliding with fellow racers in an effort to stall them. When the same happens to him in the final few laps of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Sonny nearly has another serious accident. While he manages to get his car back to safety, the blunt force of the impact leaves him with a concussion. The fact that he doesn’t adequately address that, and steps right into the race, shows that the problem with his actions is not something that can be easily resolved.
The real reason for Sonny’s risk-taking maneuvers is not the thrill it generates. Instead, Sonny reveals that he lives for the moment of clear victory, when time seems to compress for him. Ironically, at his fastest speeds, the protagonist experiences a slowed version of things, and that fills him with a sense of peace. This end goal, as such, contrasts with the violent methods he often puts to use in order to achieve his desired result. However, it is clear that after a number of serious injuries, Sonny learns his lesson by the end of ‘F1: The Movie.’ While he does not quit racing outright, he returns to a life of smaller races, decreasing the risk to his body as best he can. The movie ends with on a positive note, and the lack of any resolution about his potential internal injuries seems to be a deliberate choice on the creators’ part.
While Sonny might have left Formula 1 behind, he still does not address the lingering trauma of his accidents, both on a physical and psychological level. The concussion and bodily unease he displays through most of the final race can be interpreted to be symptomatic of a more serious injury in the future. As his medical reports clearly state the rising probability of a permanent debilitation, it is likely that Sonny’s time as a racer is limited. While there is a chance that he will simply quit before things get too risky, the darker scenario of him getting injured beyond recovery stands as an equally possible outcome. As such, his death cannot be ruled out of the equation entirely, and the fear of an accident akin to the one in 1990 always remains.
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