Not too long ago, I saw F1: The Movie with one of my friends. While I was naturally blown away by how Brad Pitt can still look so good in his 60s (honestly, what sorcery is that?), I also couldn’t help but notice the attention to detail in each character’s outfit. It isn’t that they wear anything flashy; by contrast, most characters wear neutral colors and comfortable-looking fabrics, and there is an absence of big logos. What stood out to me were the small details regarding the accessories. Looking closely, these accessories reveal a lot about the characters, advancing the story in a more nuanced way than dialogue or actions alone.
Formula 1 is a world of nearly unfathomable wealth – a single racing car costs around $16 million on average, and the typical F1 team owner has at least hundreds of millions of dollars in net worth. The characters in this movie, and those in the real F1 world, could afford to wear anything. In the face of this almost unimaginable wealth, restraint is the very point. In F1: The Movie, luxury isn’t in flashy fashion. It’s in the quiet confidence of the right accessory.
The Neutral Wardrobe in F1: The Movie
When not racing, Brad Pitt’s character, Sonny Hayes, typically wears jeans, boots and everyday clothes. Similarly, Damson Idris’s character, Joshua Pearce, typically wears white or black. These wardrobe choices were intentional: Julian Day, costume designer for the movie, told Women’s Wear Daily that “it is a very classic look in Formula One and there’s a real uniform that the general public wear: it’s very classy, it’s chinos, it’s very tight jeans, it’s white trainers, polo shirts, blues, pinks.”
He goes on to describe Sonny as “a cowboy, he’s a maverick, he’s a gambler, he’s a chancer,” and that edgy actors like Kris Kristofferson, Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, and Clint Eastwood gave him inspiration for Sonny’s outfits.
For Pearce, the younger and more immature driver in the movie, Day says he drew inspiration from Lewis Hamilton (pictured left), who is arguably one of the most fashionable Formula 1 drivers. Take a look at his style evolution: the pictures speak for themselves. Day says he followed Hamilton’s mix of established and newer brands when dressing Idris’s character.
Finally, for Javier Bardem’s character, Ruben Cervantes, the uber-wealthy team boss of APXGP, Day says he used items from Zegna, Tom Ford, and Gucci to create casual yet refined looks.
The Small Details in F1: The Movie
While embodying each character’s personality, Day excelled at creating key details that cemented each one’s uniqueness. For example, Pitt’s character wore the same set of necklaces throughout – whether he was in a hospital bed, winning a race, or driving through the Mexican desert at the end of the movie.
I also noticed that Peter Banning, played by Tobias Menzies, wore a set of beads around his wrist. It was an interesting juxtaposition, as Banning ended up being a sort of villain by the end. At the same time, I’d typically associate those beads with someone who frequents Zen retreats and practices spirituality.
In a similar vein, Pearce’s mother, Bernadette (played by Sarah Niles) wears smaller, daintier jewelry throughout the film. In the scene where she visits her son in the hospital, her jewelry almost took my breath away when I noticed it. She wears a matching set of small silver earrings and a silver necklace, the pendants of which are heart-shaped.
In a way, she feels like the beating heart of the movie, the mom of the characters, the moral compass for Pearce. Her son was in the hospital due to a freak accident, which means she didn’t plan this outfit; she was already wearing her heart on her sleeve (or, her ears). It is a thoughtful touch by Day, and one that didn’t go unnoticed.
The Sunglasses in F1: The Movie
I’ve been looking to buy a new pair of sunglasses, so naturally, the characters’ eyewear drew my attention. Each character had their signature pair, which adds to their story in meaningful ways.
Pitt’s character, Hayes, wore gold-rimmed, orange-tinted aviators, exuding an effortless “cool” element. Speaking to GQ, Day explains that the sunglasses are actually an unlabelled pair that belonged to his dad, who sponsored Formula 1 cars in the 1970s.
He goes on to explain that he tried on many sunglasses for Hayes’ character: “I must have put out about 50 to 60 pairs of glasses [during the fitting],” but these fit the character effortlessly. Day theorized that in the movie they may have been passed down to Hayes by his father, an engineer. Thus, the sunglasses show that the character is someone who takes care of and treasures his belongings – this we can ascertain before we even know much about him, simply by what he chooses to wear.
Idris’s character consistently wore matte black sunglasses, tinted so darkly they partially obscured his eyes, oozing sleekness and mystery. One of the pairs I identified is from the brand Police; the model is called Horizon 1 SPLF72. They’re sold out online, but one website I found said it would’ve cost around $188 USD. It is an interesting choice for Pearce; it shows that, despite his immaturity at times throughout the movie, he hasn’t completely forgotten his humble beginnings, as he isn’t splurging on remarkably expensive sunglasses.
Speaking of remarkably expensive sunglasses, Bardem’s character Cervantes wears two notable pairs of glasses, one sunglasses and one clear lenses, that caught my eye. The sunglasses he wears most often are the 1394 Aviator-Style Acetate Sunglasses by Cutler and Gross, which retail for $625 USD. The clear lenses he wears are the same model by Cutler and Gross, which retail for $571 USD. It certainly makes sense that Cervantes would wear more expensive glasses as he is the team boss. However, despite how expensive these two pairs are, we again see that he doesn’t opt for gaudy, flashy glasses as someone else in his tax bracket might.
Importantly, I didn’t notice any prominent branding on any of the sunglasses they wore throughout the movie. This was striking to me, as some luxury brands make their branding as huge as possible on eyewear. The “quiet luxury” theme in F1 also pervades the world of sunglasses.
The Watches in F1: The Movie
During one of my first retail jobs, I was told not to judge a customer’s wealth by their clothes, hair, or nails, but by what shoes and watches they choose to wear. F1: The Movie is no exception; the watches really shine.
In the movie, Hayes wears a customized version of the IWC Ingenieur Reference 1832. According to Tempus Magazine, Pitt was heavily involved in the design, requesting that it be thinner than the usual model. A similar model, the IWC Ingenieur Jumbo, retails for between $25,000 and $35,000 USD, based on what I’m seeing online. The watch rarely leaves his wrist throughout the movie, and, combined with his ever-present orange aviators and gold jewelry, it really adds to the character’s raw, authentic vibe.
Cervantes, not surprisingly, wears a slightly flashier and more expensive watch throughout the film. His is the IWC Schaffhausen Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar ($36,500 USD). While still expensive, I like this choice for him because it’s sleek, stylish, and understated. Tempus Magazine (mentioned earlier) described it succinctly: with “a stainless steel case, a blue dial, rhodium-plated hands and a blue calfskin strap,” it’s “a watch fitting for the impeccably dressed.”
About halfway through the movie, there was a scene in which a member of the press interviewed three team principals. They were wearing their team’s branded clothing, which didn’t initially stand out as anything unusual. As they were talking, though, I couldn’t help but notice their watches.
These team principals were wearing diamond-encrusted watches from brands like Rolex or TAG Heuer. These accessory choices are yet another example of how the outfits are functional and only expensive-looking if you know what to look for. If you focused solely on the clothing they wore, you’d miss the sheer wealth their accessories represented.
The Psychology of Minimalism and Luxe Accessories
In a world of immense wealth, where you could buy and wear whatever you wanted, it is always fascinating to me when people opt for more understated clothing. In the F1 world, it seems that it’s the accessories, not the brand of clothing, that convey non-verbal cues about power, status, and taste. I didn’t see a singular article of clothing on the characters that was branded, aside from the racing kits and team uniforms, of course.
Another element of dressing in the F1 world that I’m curious about is the idea of an in-group bias. This bias refers to the tendency to favor those whom one perceives as part of one’s own “group.” I previously wrote an article about how in-group bias can shape personal style, arguing that dressing a certain way allows you to perceive someone’s social rank or perceived importance quickly. Are the accessories worn in F1: The Movie, and the F1 world in general, a way to discreetly show everyone around you how much wealth you have? I’d argue yes, it could be, but it’s also a way to communicate nonverbally that you’re part of the group; you’re “in the know.”
If someone like Javier Bardem’s character, who plays Reuben Cervantes, the uber-wealthy team boss of APXGP, were to walk into a Starbucks in, say, Chicago, people might not realize how rich this man is. However, in the world of F1, people recognize the importance of paying attention to accessories. It’s almost like being able to speak the same language – people in the Formula 1 world can identify wealth in ways that an average person wouldn’t know to look for.
Final Thoughts: Luxury in the Margins
After watching F1: The Movie, I left the theater not just thinking about fast cars or neck strength (that wasn’t a thing I realized F1 drivers need to train for), but about how the smallest visual choices – beads on a wrist, orange-tinted aviators, a luxury watch – can say so much about a person. In a world as ultra-luxurious as Formula 1, the flashiest thing someone can do is not try too hard.
By the way, if you don’t believe me about the neck strength thing, check out this article about it from Men’s Health – or if you’re stuck behind a paywall, this one from BoxLife Magazine also talks about it.
It made me think about how we all communicate status or identity through details, whether we’re aware of it or not.
In fact, the movie has had a real impact on how people dress for Formula 1 events. An article posted by the brand in September 2025 wrote about how the movie has shaped trackside fashion and influenced a “motorcore” aesthetic, which includes leather trousers and racing stripes.
Whether you want to don leather pants or are worried you’ll turn out like Ross from Friends (where’s the baby powder?), it’s clear that the world of quiet luxury, with its confident, nuanced style, is a clear contradiction to the modern world of flashiness and boastfulness.
Whether it’s a pair of sunglasses or a barely-there bracelet, sometimes it’s those discreet, thoughtful touches that tell the loudest stories about who we are, what we value, and where we’re going.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be rethinking every accessory I own.
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