Brad Pitt and Apple have been working on a new F1 movie for some time, with Jerry Bruckheimer and Joseph Kosinksi at the helm. Now, just as they put their actors in real-life fighter planes for Top Gun: Maverick, they're going to put their leading man in a race car – Brad Pitt will be driving a Mercedes-designed car during Formula 1 race weekends from Silverstone onwards.
In a panel at the F1 Accelerate, F1 journalist Will Buxton learned that Pitt would be driving a racing car to make the new movie "the most accurate, most impressive race movie anyone has ever seen."
Maybe not an F1 car, but...
What an honour to host the final panel of the day at #F1Accelerate with movie royalty Jerry Bruckheimer and Joseph Kosinski. Their F1 movie sounds incredible. They’re creating an 11th team and filming on track and on event from Silverstone to the end of the year. pic.twitter.com/fPAn2rJVoSMay 4, 2023
While Buxton initially said that Pitt would be behind the completely unround wheel of an F1 car, it turns out it will likely be something a little bit less powerful, as reported by Albert Fabrega on Twitter. Instead, it looks like it will be a Formula 2 or 3 car – a version for less-experienced drivers so they don't put millions of dollars worth of carbon fiber and titanium into a wall.
That F2 or F3 car seems to be a new car designed and developed by the Mercedes F1 team at their Silverstone HQ, with speculation that the car has already been spotted in a widely-spread video. According to Fabrega, Pitt will not be driving the car while anything is happening on the track, likely driving the car on the tarmac on his own to be placed in the action in post-production.
Speculation is that this may be the car that Mercedes worked on for the filmhttps://t.co/SR72eFKPawMay 4, 2023
The story of 'Grand Prix' will follow an 11th F1 team, with Pitt playing an older F1 driver who must prove himself against a Rookie and the 'titans of the sport.' There is still yet to be a release date, but its release will be a curious one as Apple TV+ plans to release the movie both in theatres and on its streaming service.