Polyphia guitarist Tim Henson says his path to Hans Zimmer’s score for F1: The Movie began with a nylon guitar—and that the work called for a different instinct from playing in his own band. Rather than make every part technically elaborate, he focused on serving the film’s emotional needs. He also shared his reaction to Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett praising his technique while questioning how relatable the music is.
How Tim Henson connected with Hans Zimmer
In a July 2025 interview transcription published by Musician Voice and attributed there to Rolling Stone, Henson said the introduction came through Polyphia’s tour manager, Joe, who knew Zimmer’s guitar technician. When Joe went to see Zimmer perform, he asked Henson whether he wanted to give Zimmer one of his nylon guitars. Henson arranged the gift through Ibanez and included his contact details. About a week later, he said, Zimmer emailed to say he was a fan and wanted to work together. Read the interview transcription.
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Henson said Zimmer showed him the film in November of the previous year and explained what he wanted musically. With the score deadline approaching in April, Henson followed up near the end of February and flew to Los Angeles to work at Zimmer’s studio. Those dates are Henson’s retrospective account in the interview, rather than independently verified session records.
What Henson contributed to the F1 score
Henson described a collaborative process built around music already taking shape. He layered guitar lines with synth lines, added his interpretation to demo parts represented by MIDI notes, and supplied smaller guitar details that could sit beneath orchestral and sound-design layers. Asked where his playing is clearest, he pointed to the “really crazy racing scenes.” The interview does not identify every cue or provide a track-by-track performance credit.
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For the sessions, Henson said he used mostly Neural DSP—primarily his own plugin, along with some of the Cory Wong plugin. He also played mostly a guitar Zimmer had supplied: it was shaped like a Telecaster but made of metal, which Henson found especially percussive. The interview does not name the guitar’s maker or model.
Why film scoring called for a different approach
Henson contrasted the self-directed, adventurous choices he makes with Polyphia against the responsibility of contributing to a film. “In this context, my job is to serve the movie,” he said. That means understanding the director’s intentions and helping shape what the audience feels, rather than making technical complexity the goal.
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“A lot of the times, simplicity is gonna be more moving than complexity,” Henson said of composing for a film audience. The distinction is not that one approach is better: it is that a score has to work within the story and the surrounding music. In the interview, Henson said he wanted to do more film work and become more involved in composing; that was an aspiration at the time, not confirmation of a later project.
What Kirk Hammett said—and how Henson took it
Hammett’s assessment paired admiration for Henson’s technique with a question about accessibility: “I really like his style. It’s really unique, and in terms of technique, it’s amazing. But then, it’s the age-old question: How relatable is it?” The interview transcription reproduces the remark, and Guitar World’s July 14, 2025 report adds context about Hammett’s question of whether the style reaches casual listeners.
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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Henson said he saw the comment through a Google alert and called it “a compliment and a diss at the same time.” He also said he appreciated the recognition and jokingly invited Hammett to take Polyphia on tour. His response acknowledged both parts of Hammett’s comment: the praise for his playing and the challenge about how listeners connect with it.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.The original score and F1: The Album are different releases
F1: The Movie (Original Score) is Hans Zimmer’s score, co-composed with Steve Mazzaro. F1: The Album is the companion collection of songs associated with the film; it is not another name for the score. Atlantic Records’ announcement also described a cinematic edition combining the soundtrack and score, and said a special-edition vinyl of the original score was available for preorder at the time of the announcement. See the Atlantic Records announcement republished by PopFiltr. That announcement does not establish current price or availability, pressing details, or audio-format specifications.
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Atlantic Records reported in that 2025 announcement that the album had more than 600 million global streams and more than 400,000 albums sold worldwide, and debuted at No. 2 on Billboard’s Soundtracks chart and No. 13 on the Billboard 200. These are label-reported figures from the announcement’s publication context, not independently audited measurements or current totals.
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