🏎️ F1 (2025) in Dolby Atmos: A Race of Sound

Jon Garcia
Jul 23
3 min read

Updated: Jul 25

3 out of 5 Bags 💰💰💰

Written by Jonathan Garcia

Opening night at the Dolby Cinema for the premiere of the Apple film “F1”. This movie is bold, connects, is “funnyish”, and immediately puts you in the driver's seat and you can feel and hear the engine!

The acting and character development were top notch. A beautiful music score and killer soundtrack with immersive transitions and FX that elevated the experience. I walked in knowing nothing about the sport and left the theater with my ears muffled as if I was leaving the stands of a real F1 race. Maybe that was the point? Now let’s talk Dolby.

📣 Loudness

Okay, this film is LOUD.

Now that might be appropriate for a film about Formula 1. It’s not called “whisper 1” LOL. As a mixing engineer and really as a listener, I found myself in amazing questions about the approach. Do we push the mix hard and sacrifice the dynamics for volume to replicate the visceral impact of an F1 engine? Or do we let the film breathe and risk losing that sense of energy that now could be lacking in the picture? Why are the people talking as loud as the cars sometimes?

Tough call. In the end, the team made the decisions that were best for the music and film. Extreme kudos to them and everyone involved! Personally, the film may have gotten fatiguing fast on the ears. Sometimes you would wonder if they added LFE to the dialogue. Or by the end if the film actually got quieter or if my ears were just getting too fatigued to notice anymore.

🎧 The Atmos

The Dolby Atmos has great use all throughout this film. Potentially a bit “safe”? The opening scene pulls you right into the race: engine blaring, LFE pumping, you’re locked in. I appreciated how they gave you different perspectives throughout: hearing the race as the racer inside the car, as a fan in the stands, as the engineer back at the booth, even as the pit crew getting the car in and out under 3 seconds. Really nice attention to detail. All different perspectives with amazing Atmos to compliment incredible visuals.

That said, most of the Atmos mix leaned heavy toward the front of the room. It felt like mostly fronts and wides doing the heavy lifting. The height speakers did get used, voices, speaker announcements, go light, music, and crowd ambience. You could tell when they were active. I still felt like it didn’t wrap around you fully the way it could have. Still some really great immersive moments where you can turn your head and notice the entire room full.

The Ed Sheeran outro in Atmos? Honestly a bit underwhelming after everything we’d just been through. Ed.. hmu

Favorite Atmos Moments:

First Pit Crew Scene: Super immersive, made me feel like I was on the team. Loved hearing the panning and all the fx.
"Undeniably Messy" Interview: Maybe just reverb and ambience, but it really felt like I was in the room.
The Fireworks: Felt real, almost physical like they were actually happening in the theater.
“New Car” Reveal & Final Rave: Were very immersive with the music, creative Atmos scenes and good placement.
“He’s Flying”: This was pretty fun because again the directors put us in the driver's seat as we fly around the track!

🔊 LFE

The low end was very well done. The way those engines rumbled, the whole theater felt like it was shaking. The stadium moments, the pass bys, the roar of the crowd. Everything was felt. And the 🐄 cow scene!!! (you’ll know it when you see it) surprisingly AMAZING bass.

But I will say, some of the dialogue seemed and felt super bassy. Like, did they add LFE under the voice just to be dramatic? Maybe. Not sure if that was intentional or overdone, but it made me raise an eyebrow. Could feel distracting to some maybe.

🏁 Final Thoughts

This is an amazing film. Great acting, insane score and soundtrack, and some strong immersive moments. But I’m giving it 3 out of 5 Bags because of how front-heavy the Atmos mix felt. A lot of the theater just wasn’t being used the way it could’ve been. There were great pockets of immersion, but not enough to carry the whole thing.

As for the loudness and compression? I’ll leave that up to the viewers and readers of this blog. It’s F1, not a jazz documentary. If that’s the sound they were chasing, they nailed it. But if your ears are ringing by the end like you just left a stadium show... maybe it’s worth asking if the dial could’ve been turned down a touch.

That said, I definitely recommend watching it. It’s a ride. Buckle up, don’t think about the Atmos too much and enjoy the race. 🏎️