A turbocharged Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl get Rush firing on all cylinders.

I’m not a fan of Formula One or motor racing and so had only the vaguest awareness of both Nikki Lauda and James Hunt going into “Rush”. What got my backside in a seat was partly the trailer and cast but mainly the identity of the director: Ron Howard. Aside from his flaccid, lifeless Dan Brown adaptations (blame: source material), Ron Howard is a great – and quite underrated – director; certainly one of the very best at drawing out the entertainment and drama from true stories. In “Rush”, Howard has crafted a film that is equally gripping and entertaining for F1 neophytes and devotees alike. Rather than a specific biopic of either Hunt or Lauda, “Rush” is the story of the tumultuous 1976 Formula One Season and their parts in it.

The film very deliberately has a documentary feel to it, and there are cleverly blended uses of actual archive footage peppered through the film although such is the standard of recreating the 1970s that it’s often hard to pinpoint where they begin and end. In parts, the film is narrated by either Lauda or Hunt and as befits their starkly different personalities, Hunt’s narration often centres on himself whereas Lauda’s narration is more reflective and observational about everything going on around him in the world of racing. Staged much like a documentary, the film opens with narration by Lauda (played unflinchingly by Daniel Brühl) as he recalls the 1976 German Grand Prix, however before the defining incident of both the film and Lauda’s life occurs, we flashback to 1970 and the narration is picked up by James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth).

Peter Morgan, writer of “The Queen” and “Frost/Nixon” has built his script as if it was one of the Formula One cars ready to hurtle around the Nürburgring. Every ounce of excess weight and unnecessary detail is excised and the story pared down to the most propulsive, aerodynamic form possible. Gone is much of the political gerrymandering and regulation pedantry which changed and changed again the results of so many races during that season, although they are hinted at by the inclusion of the disputed result of the Spanish Grand Prix and a later pithy comment by Hunt about politics. Gone too is much of the truth of Lauda and Hunt’s relationship including the time they shared a London flat and their very real kinship between two professionals.

However, ‘Based On  A True Story’ is a phrase that covers a multitude of sins and by discarding these inconvenient truths and magnifying Hunt and Lauda into archetypal opposites, “Rush” delivers a thrilling duel of both driving skills and philosophies as Hunt’s instinctive, aggressive style is pitted against Lauda’s cerebral, analytical and disciplined methodology. Their private lives are covered to some degree, with the outgoing and reckless Hunt’s womanising contrasted against Lauda’s shy courtship of socialite Marlene Knaus but there’s no getting away from the fact that this is a movie about the cars and the men who drove them.

Ron Howard seems refreshed and invigorated by the subject material and brings the heady chaos, danger and high-octane excitement of 1970s Formula One to visceral life. There’s a real kinetic feel to the direction and no attempt at all to shy away from the decidedly fatal realities of motorsport during this more devil-may-care era. Accidents and injuries are shown in all their grisly splendour but what gore there is isn’t gratuitous or glorified, although there’s certainly one moment where any cartilogenophobics are going to want to turn away from the screen. Taking full advantage of Peter Morgan’s script, Ron Howard manages to maintain the authoritative authenticity of the documentary-style without compromising the freedom of a petrol-driven sports movie. Location shooting is used well, however, anyone familiar with the track at Brands Hatch, will spot the few times it stands in for other Grand Prix circuits during the film.

Chris Hemsworth is charismatic and hugely likeable as James Hunt, embracing both the highs and lows of a supremely talented but selfishly hedonistic man living life on the edge in an age of excess. All the more credit, then, to Daniel Brühl’s portrayal of Nikki Lauda as a serious, humourless, aloof and driven individual, who sneers at Hunt celebrating a single victory, prioritising instead the sustained success brought about through study, application and consistency. Both actors bring their characters to life in a way that you find your allegiances shift back and forth throughout the film as events unfold towards the terrible accident at the German Grand Prix and Lauda’s recovery. So completely do they inhabit the roles that at the very end of the film when it switches to footage of the real James Hunt and Nikki Lauda, it takes you a moment to realise the switch has happened.

If the film has a fault, it’s that it’s jettisoned maybe a little too much in its quest to be so streamlined, and there are moments you’ll wish it would focus on a bit longer before barreling onwards. Many elements aren’t covered in any great depth, least of all Lauda’s recovery from his horrific injury which is pretty much dealt with in about 15 minutes. There are a multitude of moments in this film that could have been further explored, enriching the overall experience and perhaps I’m more of a motor racing fan than I thought for wishing the film was much, much longer.

The final showdown in Japan at the climax of the season is suitably tense and thrilling (especially as I didn’t know the outcome of the season before I saw the film) however, more compelling is the final scene where Lauda and Hunt encounter each other months afterwards at an airfield. We finally get a glimpse of the real relationship between the rivals as the two men speak honestly to each other (or at least as honestly as their egos will allow) and grudgingly admit their mutual admiration for each other’s talents.

After seeing “Rush”, you’ll probably come out of the cinema, head straight to the internet and delve into the rich history of Formula One and especially the careers of Nikki Lauda and James Hunt. I know I did.