Ethos Education

F1 The Movie

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Learning Objectives:            

  • Students will: explore how ambition can be both healthy and unhealthy.
  • Understand the meaning of sacrifice within Christian teaching, particularly through the verse John 15:12-14.
  • Recognise how sacrifice can appear in everyday life and in high-pressure environments.
  • Explore the relationship dynamics between Sonny Hayes and Joshua Pearce in F1: The Movie and how their decisions illustrate selflessness and teamwork.
  • Reflect on how choosing sacrifice over rivalry can build stronger communities, friendships, and teams.
  • Synthesise learning by writing a news report on the sacrificial death of Jesus.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Explain the message of John 15:12-14 and describe how it relates to concepts of love, sacrifice, and putting others first.
  • Describe how the actions of Joshua and Sonny demonstrate sacrifice within a competitive setting.
  • Compare personal ambition with the choice to support others, recognising when sacrifice might be the more meaningful path.
  • Identify positive examples of selflessness in their own lives, friendships, or teams.
  • Evaluate why sacrifice is valued in Christian faith and consider whether they see similar values in their own beliefs or communities.

Supporting Values Education:

  1. Democracy. Students will recognise that individuals can choose to act for the good of others, even when they have the freedom to pursue their own interests. Understand that democratic communities rely on people making responsible, selfless choices that support the wellbeing of the wider group.
  2. The Rule of Law. Students will understand the importance of fairness and agreed rules, both in sport and in society, and how sacrifice often means respecting these even when it is personally costly.
  3. Individual Liberty. Students will recognise that individuals have the freedom to make choices – but that responsible use of liberty may involve putting others first. Understand that true freedom includes the ability to choose compassion, sacrifice, and service. Reflect on how choosing to support others can be an empowering expression of personal values.
  4. Mutual Respect. Students will understand that respect involves valuing others’ achievements, roles, and dignity, even in competitive environments.

STARTER:

Begin by talking about the word ‘Ambition’. As a class try and find a definition for it.

Collins Dictionary defines it as ‘the desire to be successful, rich or powerful’. To have an ambition is to very much want to do it or achieve it.

Ask the class to come up with some suggestions of ambitions. These might include:

  • To achieve sporting success (e.g. to compete in the Olympics or play for a particular team).
  • To earn a lot of money.
  • To become a politician or leader who has power over others.

 Display the following three quotes about Ambition and discuss them as a class.

 “At the age of six I wanted to be a cook. At seven I wanted to be Napoleon. And my ambition has been growing steadily ever since.” ― Salvador Dali (artist).

Do you think Salvador Dali really wanted to be Napoleon? Why did he choose such a grand figure? Do you agree with him that ambition grows with age? Do you think that ambition is ever satisfied?

“A man’s worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions.” ― Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Meditations (Roman emperor).

Are ambitious people more valuable than unambitious people? Why/why not? Why do you think an emperor might be interested in ambitious people?

There is a school of thought that unless you are ambitious in life, you are a failure.

“Stars, hide your fires; / Let not light see my black and deep desires”. — Macbeth (Act I, Scene IV) (Shakespearean character who murdered the king so he could become king).

What sort of ambitions might people keep secret from others? Is all ambition healthy? What is the danger of being over-ambitious?

One of the most obvious places where ambition is seen is in competitive sport. Many students present will be ambitious to be selected for a team, or to win when they play sport.

Distribute the Ambition Questionnaire worksheet and invite students to complete it individually, adding up the scores in each section. If you have time and the class knows each other well, you could invite one or two students to share their conclusions, or get them to swap answers with a friend and see if they agree with the scores.

Ambition is good because it makes us work hard, and helps us succeed. It can be unhealthy if it stops other people from succeeding, or leads us to disregard the feelings or ambitions of others along the way.

MAIN ACTIVITIES:

Introduce the film clip by explaining the following:

Formula 1 racing is an extremely competitive environment with millions of pounds of sponsorship and investment being made. In the clip we see two drivers, Sonny Hayes and Joshua Pearce, competing for the same team, Apex GP in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the last race of the season. The team is not in contention to win until the last three laps of the race when it suddenly becomes possible. However, only one of the two drivers can win, and both are highly ambitious. Sonny, the older driver, has never won a Grand Prix, while Joshua is being promoted as the new driver in the team.

Show the clip from F1 The Movie (Warner Bros 2025, certificate 12). Click here to buy the DVD online.

  • Start time: 02.01.32/02:08:43*
  • End time: 02:13:19
  • Clip length: 11 minutes 47 seconds/4 minutes 36 seconds

At 02:08:41 there is use of the phrase ‘Cheeky bastard’. To avoid including this, begin the clip at 2:08:43* (‘That’s it, stay with me.’) and give more background in the introduction.

The clip starts at Lap 54 of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (the final race of the season). Apex GP drivers, Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) and Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris) have a history of competing rather than working as a team, but as the race progresses, it becomes evident that they have finally started to work together. However, there is little chance that the Apex GP team can win. At Lap 54, Sonny is involved in a crash and the stewards have to ‘red flag’ the race, meaning that all the cars can make changes in the pit lane while the track is cleared. The Apex GP chief, Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem) says ‘Miracle’. As the drivers wait for the race to restart, Sonny says to Joshua that three laps is a lifetime and that he needs to ‘go win this thing’. The race restarts with the Apex GP team on soft tyres, which will give them an advantage. Cervantes tells Joshua’s mum that ‘sometimes when you lose, you win’. As the cars hurtle around the track, Joshua slipstreams behind Sonny. They overtake everyone apart from the race leader, Lewis Hamilton. The team knows that Hamilton will attack whoever tries to overtake first. Sonny goes first, allowing Pearce to take poll position. Hamilton gets ahead of Sonny, and Joshua asks his team if Sonny can finish. His team tells him not to take any more risks, but Joshua says that there is no such thing. Joshua and Hamilton both strike out, leaving Sonny in first place. Sonny goes ahead and wins the race.

Explain that Sonny and Joshua were at different stages in their careers. Joshua was young and full of energy and promise. Sonny was older but had wisdom about how to drive, and was desperate to win one Grand Prix. Both men were highly ambitious. If there was time to watch the whole film, it would be obvious that the pair did not get on, and found it hard to work as a team.

Something changed in this last race of the season, though. Each of the men was prepared to give up his own ambition in order to let the other succeed. At first, Sonny let Joshua overtake Lewis Hamilton, and then Joshua sacrificed his own chance of winning, to let Sonny come first.

Discuss with the students why the two men chose to sacrifice their own ambitions in order to let the other succeed. Sonny realised that it was time to let a younger man win, while Joshua knew that this was the only chance Sonny would have to succeed. Both men had learned to respect one another and wanted the other to win.

Distribute the Greater Love worksheet and ask students to complete it on their own. The handout requires them to read John 15:12-14 then match a set of descriptions of Christians who have lived sacrificially to a corresponding sentence stating why they behaved as they did. The correct answers are:

Description Sacrifice means…
Maximilian Kolbe (WWII, Poland).

Polish priest who volunteered to die in the place of another prisoner in Auschwitz concentration camp.

 Having the physical courage to give your life for another, even when you don’t know the other person.
Mother Teresa (20th century, India).

Albanian nun who lived amongst the poorest in Kolkata, India.

 Serving others in ordinary, consistent, and practical ways even when it means moving to another country and living in poverty.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (WWII, Germany).

German pastor who resisted the Nazis, helped Jews escape and was killed as a result.

 Standing up for others even when it means great personal risk because you know you are fighting against an evil regime.
Florence Nightingale (19th century, Crimea).

British nurse who treated wounded soldiers in the Crimean War despite poor conditions and risks to her own health.

 Choosing to give up personal comfort to care for others even when you are putting your own health at risk during wartime.
William Wilberforce (18–19th century, UK).

British politician who fought for decades to end the transatlantic slave trade despite opposition.

 Being persistent in fighting for justice for all even though it makes you unpopular with people who profit from oppressing others.
Oscar Romero (20th century, El Salvador).

Latin American priest who spoke out against oppression of the poor, and was assassinated in church.

 Standing up for others in your country even when it upsets important people and will mean your life is at risk because you are prepared to speak up against violence.
Jackie Pullinger (present day, Hong Kong).

British missionary who lives amongst addicts and gang members in order to serve them and share the good news of Jesus.

 Giving up safety and comfort to care for others even if their addiction and violence means they may not accept your message and even threaten you.
Desmond Tutu (20th-21st century, South Africa).

South African bishop who opposed apartheid and later advocated of peace and reconciliation in South Africa.

 Having the moral courage to speak the truth to power in your country even when you face prejudice and then you spend your life working to bring about peace.

Some of the statements will overlap but the point is to build a picture of what the sacrifice means.

Once the class has finished the worksheet, invite them to share the words they have chosen to describe sacrifice. These might include:

  • Brave
  • Courageous
  • Serving
  • Fighting for justice
  • Giving up
  • Truthful

Display the following verses from the Bible:

It is unusual for anyone to die for a godly person. Maybe someone would be willing to die for a good person. But here is how God has shown his love for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Paul (Romans 5:7-8).

At the heart of the Christian faith is the belief that Jesus Christ was willing to die for the whole world, even though nobody deserves this sacrifice. The Bible demonstrates that God wants to be friends with human beings, and is willing to sacrifice his own life in order to make this happen.

SUMMARY AND ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING:

Distribute the News Report worksheet. Students must find five clues about how early Christians lived, then create a news report and picture describing the Philippian Christians.

YOU WILL NEED:

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