“I'm a little giddy right now, I've got to say,” Brad Pitt admitted after his drive around Silverstone race course before the Formula One British Grand Prix got underway on Sunday (9 July).
Pitt has been charming fans at the racing event as he films his untitled, forthcoming F1 movie directed by Top Gun: Maverick boss Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment, and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.
After taking to the track alongside his costar Damson Idris (Snowfall) in a pair of junior F2 cars modified to look like F1 vehicles, Pitt spoke to Sky Sports presenter and former F1 driver Martin Brundle about the experience.
“It’s great to be here. Having such a laugh; time of my life,” the 59-year-old star said.
Pitt confirmed for the first time that Javier Bardem is cast in the film while revealing new details about the plot, which has so far been kept mostly under wraps.
Inviting 64-year-old Brundle in for a cameo, Pitt explained that his character Sonny Hayes was an F1 driver in the Nineties who “has a horrible crash, kind of craps out and disappears and is racing in other disciplines”.
“His friend, played by Javier Bardem, is a team owner. They’re a last-placed owner, 21, 22 on the grid. They’ve never scored a point. They have a young phenom played by Damson Idris. He brings me in as a kind of Hail Mary, and hijinks ensue.”
He teased: “Tell you what’s amazing about it. You’ll see the cameras mounted all over the car. You’ve never seen speed, you’ve never seen the G-forces like this. it’s really amazing.”
He added that driving around the circuit was “humbling”: “I don’t know if you could call mine a hot lap, I’d call it kind of a warm lap.
“I’ve taken a few tours, unintentionally, through the grass,” he said while confirming he hadn’t hit anything hard yet, “Only my ego.”
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Asked how he felt driving in front of the British GP crowd, Pitt said: “I wasn’t nervous... The guys really prepared me well.
“There’s a couple of corners where I can see the stands, but I was focused on the lines. I was able to appreciate the experience of driving when I was on the straights. This should be as authentic as we can get it. Lewis wants us to respect the sport, that we really show it for what it is. As a civilian, I had no idea what it takes to be a driver. The aggression and dexterity, I have so much respect for it.”
Brad Pitt and co-star Damson Idris stand for the national anthem on the grid during the F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone Circuit— (Getty Images)
Hamilton, who is the most successful driver in F1 history, told reporters on Saturday that he was keenly focused on the film’s authenticity. “There are nerves because it is something we’ve been working on for so long,” he said.
“We want everyone to love it and to really feel that we encapsulate what the essence of this sport is all about.”
Hamilton, 38, has previously confirmed that he will not appear in the movie himself.
“Really my responsibility and something that I take on is just making sure that the cast and the crew in the background is diverse,” he said.
Interest in F1 has ballooned in recent years thanks in large part to the success of Netflix’s behind-the-scenes documentary series Drive to Survive.
