Hollywood heartthrob Brad Pitt tastes true F1 courtesy of Lando Norris’ team

Brad Pitt got a taste of the thrill of driving a Formula 1 car after participating in a test session with the McLaren team on Thursday, June 19. The Hollywood star joined the papaya-coloured team at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA).

The 61-year-old, who has become a familiar face across the F1 scene in recent years, largely due to his role in the acting and production of the Formula 1 movie, had the movie premiere at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City on June 16. Following the premiere, Pitt took to the circuit in Texas, where he got his first true taste of Formula 1 machinery.

According to a report by RacingNews365, Brad Pitt drove the 2023 McLaren MCL60 challenger in what was adjudged to be one of the team’s Testing of Previous Car (TPC) programmes. The report further detailed that Pitt was joined by Lando Norris and the Woking-based outfit’s junior driver, Alex Dunne, who was also involved in the testing.

Although Pitt had previously taken the wheel of a modified F1 car during filming, it wasn’t an actual Formula 1 machine. For the production of the F1 movie, his fictional APX GP team car was built from a Formula 2 chassis adapted to resemble a modern F1 challenger on screen.

The MCL60 challenger, Brad Pitt tested marked the turnaround in McLaren’s fortunes during the 2023 campaign. Following a series of upgrades, the papaya-coloured team clinched a combined nine podium finishes in the final stretch of the season.

Brad Pitt speaks on the reality of driving an F1 car

Brad Pitt previously shared his thoughts on the reality of driving a Formula 1 car. The 61-year-old completed several laps around various circuits due to the production of the F1 movie.

Sharing his thoughts on the film and the realities he experienced during the shooting of the scenes, Pitt expressed his surprise at the demanding nature of driving an F1 car. Speaking in a YouTube video shared by Today Show Australia on June 18, Pitt stated:

"These cars—it's shocking what they can do. I've spent the past few decades getting on a track on a motorcycle, so I understood race lines, braking points, and trail braking to a degree, but nothing compared to what these guys go through. The fact that you can go down a straight at 180 mph and, at an 80-yard marker, get that thing slowed down for a 90-degree right is shocking." (1:11 onwards).

Driving a Formula 1 car has often been described as one of the most demanding experiences in motorsport, and Brad Pitt required a series of test drives in open-wheel machinery to adapt to the demands of the movie. The veteran actor, who starred alongside Damson Idris in the F1 film, took part in over 6,000 miles of racing to ensure they portrayed their roles effectively.

Edited by Sumeet Kavthale